T Time Stories
by Kelly Saga
Summary: A collection of stories following the lives of the Mad T Party band: Alice, Tarrant (the Mad Hatter), Thackery (the March Hare), Mallymkun (the Dormouse), Absolem (the Caterpillar), Chesshur (the Cheshire Cat), Nivens (the White Rabbit) and maybe a few others. They've come over from Underland to play in a rock and roll band.
1. Prologue

Once upon a time a girl followed a rabbit down a rabbit hole and found a world of horror and wonder. Since that little girl has grown up she has brought her friends from the Underland to our world to play in a specialized rock band. These are their stories. Welcome to T Time.


	2. Mallymkun's Haze

A gentle knock came from the other side of the door. Mallymkun buried himself deeper under the covers to escape the intrusive sound. Only a moment later did it repeat. A gentle, but persistent _knock, knock, knock. _Mally responded with a heavy sigh and turned away from the door. Sleep felt heavy in all of his limbs and he could barely manage the energy it took to yawn before being dragged back under. There was a muffled call from the other side of the door. "Mally? Its show time."

Something important tried to weasel its way into his consciousness. There was a reason for the disturbance. The knocking signaled a purpose. He just couldn't be awake enough to care about whatever it was that was trying to pull him from his sleeping void. He didn't really dream, but floated in a gentle oblivion.

The knocking didn't occur again. Instead, the next thing Mally knew was his sheets were being ripped from him with reckless abandon. His eyes fluttered for a moment to find Thackery standing over him. Thack was dressed in his stage costume. That seemed to pull at something in the back of Mally's mind, but he was too comfortable against his pillows to pay attention.

"Come on, Mally," Thackery said. "Let's get you up and at 'em."

Mally felt hands on his ankles as they pulled his legs out of bed. Mally just slid and let the hands rotate him away from his pillow, but he stayed prostrate against the sheets. He felt heavy boots being placed on his feet and he sighed. How did they expect him to sleep in those?

Next, Mally felt the hands grip him by the shoulders and pull him up so he was just barely sitting on the edge of the bed. "Is it Tea Time, Thack?" he mumbled.

"Almost," Thackery assured him. "First, we have to do something about your bed-head." Mally's eyelids were far too heavy to open. He let the March Hare run a brush through his short, white hair to tame the fly-aways. This was becoming too familiar a routine. Hadn't they just done this earlier today? Or was it yesterday? Perhaps it was even last week. Time was a little blurry to the Dormouse.

When Thackery was done making Mally presentable, he grabbed the Dormouse's hands and gradually tugged him to his feet. The loss of the comfort of the mattress was disappointing. "Thackery," Mally grumbled.

"Come on, Mally. You can do this."

Thackery gently led Mally out of his dressing room. Mally followed compliantly at a slow shuffle. The March Hare maneuvered the barely seeing Dormouse around the obstacles towards their destination. The closer they got the louder the sound of thumping music became. There were other people around, but Mally was barely noticing them. Why couldn't they have brought his tea to him in bed?

"Is he going to be ready?" Mally heard a concerned voice ask.

"You know he will be, Absolem," Thackery responded.

"Just let me get behind my drums," Chesshur added. "I'll get the sleepy mouse's eyes to pop open."

Mally's attention seemed to perk and narrow just slightly as Thackery led him up a set of steps. He realized he was on their stage. It was familiar now and he didn't need Thackery's help anymore. He shuffled across the stage as his feet carried him to his destination. A loud yawn escaped him and he stretched his arms wide. He was slowly coming out of his sleep-induced stuper and remembering why he was here. This was no longer Underland. He'd come to play for the Hatter. No, with the Hatter.

Mally found himself standing in front of his blue electric guitar. This was why he'd been brought from his bed. He leaned down and picked up the instrument. It felt as safe and comforting in his hands as he used to be curled up in a teapot on Hatter's table. A small smile graced his lips as he slung the guitar strap over his shoulder. He tweaked the knobs expertly to test the guitar. Whatever he was trying to remember he knew it was happening soon.

The music began to fade and he heard Niven's voice come over the sound. He was barely able to catch up when he heard Niven's announce, "Your host: the Mad Hatter!"

Immediately Chesshur, who had taken a seat behind a drum set, began pounding out a beat. Mally's head picked up and his hands moved automatically to the guitar - his fingers on the strings of the fret and a guitar pick seemed to have miraculously appeared in his other hand. He struck a chord and the world around him seemed to jump into focus. He was standing a stage as the Tarrant joined them. To his left was Thackery with a red bass in his hand as he gazed out at the crowd. Mally felt the pounding of Chesshur's sticks against the drums at his back. He turned his head out to the crowd and beyond the bright lights he could see a sea of heads and hands. The crowd was teeming with excitement and anticipation, and Mally knew why they were there. They were there to see them: the Mad T Party Band!

A grin spread across Mally's face as he continued to play the guitar. His head bobbed to the beat. He sang along with his parts as one song led to another. He and Thackery strutted the stage, jumped, and howled with the crowd. Alice came out and they all sang and played together. Even Absolem, off to the side, sat behind a keyboard and played along. This was better than tea time! Everything was in sharp focus and Mally felt his heart racing with excitement and joy. He would walk the front of the stage and shred on his guitar, and in return the crowd would cheer and scream. He fed into their fervor. He even sidled up to Alice during one of her songs and sang along with her: "Hold me like a pillow." It drove the crowd wild!

Mally had forgotten about bed, and sleep, and the lack of dreams. He was here and now, however he managed to get there, and he was the life of the party. He flirted with the girls. He flirted with the guys. He teased them and left them begging for more.

Despite the feeling that Mally could keep going forever the set eventually ended. Tarrant thanked the crowd for coming, because apparently this was the last set of the night. The last one? Mally couldn't believe it. There'd been other sets this very night? If they'd all been amazing as this, why couldn't he remember much beyond arriving on the stage just now?

Mally reluctantly set the guitar back in the stand and followed Absolem and Chesshur off stage. On their way backstage they were met by a teeming crowd of people. He happily paused to take pictures with them and chat, but there were other people - stage hands - urging them to move along. Mally's pulse was still pounding and the adrenaline of performing was still in his system. He practically skipped with Thackery back to dressing rooms.

Alice convinced him to sit down and enjoy some tea with them. Sit?! How could he sit now! Yet, he did anyway. He took tea with Tarrant, Alice, and Thackery. They all laughed and recalled their favorite parts of that evening's event. The warmth of the tea spread through Mally's system and seemed to fizzle out the electric spark that had been lit by the show. He felt his limbs grow heavy and his head begin to droop. All too soon he was dozing in his chair.

The rest of the band sat around and looked at him. "He's so cute when he's sleeping," Tarrant remarked.

"But he's sexier when he's awake," Alice retorted.

Thackery just sighed. "I wish he were awake and alert more often."

And with that the band helped get the Dormouse back his bed so he could rest until tomorrow evening's performances. Once again he would be awake, and playful, and happy. Just wait another day.


	3. Mallymkun's Cure

Thackery knocked timidly on Niven's door. He glanced up and down the empty hallway as he waited for the White Rabbit to answer. That morning he had awoken with a strange notion to help Mallymkun out of his sleeping stupor, but was too shy to say anything to Tarrant or Alice. What if he was being silly? Mally had always been a sleepy Dormouse. However, since they left Underland it has been beginning to make Thackery worry. So much was different here. Including Mally when he was on stage. It was as if music woke him up more than any tea party or escapade. There was a light and joy in Mally that Thackery hoped would last longer than an hour after the exhilaration of performing had passed. They'd been here for months and Mally's sleeping only seemed to be getting worse. He became more befuddled and confused each time they left him to sleep. Tarrant didn't seem to notice, but Alice agreed it may be a problem.

After a minute or two Thackery realized that Niven had not yet answered the door. He knocked again. This time a little harder. To his ears it sounded as if the knocks echoed down the hall, but it was probably just his sensitive hearing. He waited a little longer before trying the handle. The door was open.

Thackery pushed the door open slowly and peered inside. Niven was sitting at his dressing table with his laptop open in front of him and his light-up ears atop his head. His head was bobbing to whatever he was listening to and Thackery frowned. It was obvious Niven hadn't heard him knocking.

"Niven?" Thackery called out to him. Niven glanced over his shoulder and saw Thackery staring at him. He pulled the headphones from his head and sat them next to the laptop as he punched a few keys. The White Rabbit was still wearing his sunglasses, but he was obviously looking in Thackery's direction. "Sorry, am I interrupting you?"

"Its fine," Niven reassured him. "I'm just working on a new play list for the show. Please, come in."

Niven pulled a pocket watch from his pocket and glanced at the time, even though he had a digital time display on the laptop directly in front of him. Thackery stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. "Thank you," he said. "I actually had an idea I wanted to run past you, because I need your help."

"I'm all ears," Niven said as he gestured to an empty love seat.

Thackery accepted the offer and sat down. His legs bounced a little with nervous energy and he played with the end of scarf as he glanced around Niven's room. He'd never been in the White Rabbit's room before. It was very clean, but also a little empty of any personal items. His eyes wandered around the room until he heard Niven clear his throat. "Oh, sorry. So, I have an idea to help Mallymkun."

Niven arched an eyebrow. "Help Mally how?"

"Well, you know how he only seems to wake up and come alive while we're on stage. Right?" Niven nodded. "Well, what if we could recreate those circumstances for him when it wasn't show time?"

Niven crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. He stroked his chin and he considered Thackery's proposition. "What do you have mind?"

Thackery leaned in with a conspirator smile. "First, I think we need to…"

That afternoon Mallymkun was sound asleep in his room. The covers were pulled up around his ears and he'd curled in on himself despite having the space on the foldout to sprawl. His breathing was slow and steady and his mind was blissfully blank under the thick and heavy layers of sleep.

A steady thumping began pounding its way through the sleepy haze. Mally rolled over and stretched his legs out with a loud yawn. The thumping became more obvious as a pounding bass line. His eyes fluttered open to find Thackery standing next to his vanity and watching him intently. On the vanity-top was his boom box that he'd used, though he wasn't quite sure when, to learn the music for the show. He had a vague recollection of sitting in front of it with his guitar and going over his chords again and again. Thackery was watching him with bright eyes and a nervous grin. "Mally?" he finally asked.

Mallymkun groaned and slowly pushed himself up so he was sitting in bed. He scratched at his chest through a black tank top that he'd been wearing as he slept. "What's up, Thack?" he yawned again.

Thackery's grin grew. "How are you feeling?"

Mally frowned. How was he feeling? "Tired," he said at first, but thought on it some more. "A little confused." He glanced around the room. He wasn't in Underland. There was music playing, but it didn't feel quite right. He wasn't on stage. There was something off about this scenario. "What is going on? Is it time for a show?"

"Not exactly," Thackery said. "I was just curious if you wanted to go out and do something today. You know: before the show. See the sights or play a round of cards with Chesshur?"

"What?" Mally frowned and ran his fingers through his mussed-up hair. "No, I don't think so. I think . . . I think I just want to sleep."

Thackery frowned. "Please, Mally. Won't you try?"

Thackery looked crestfallen and Mally wasn't sure why it made him feel guilty. Like it was his fault the light dimmed in playful Thackery's eyes. This wasn't like Thackery at all. At least not recently. Every time Mally could remember seeing Thackery as of late he was always smiling and dancing. He would play his bass and make faces at the audience. He was happy and outgoing. What was wrong?

Well, Thackery didn't have his bass with him. Maybe that was the problem? "Did you want to practice with me?" Mally asked.

Immediately Thackery's eyes lit up again. "Sure, Mally! Let me go get my bass. Please don't go back to sleep until I get back."

"I'll hop in the shower. That ought to keep me awake," Mally reasoned out loud as Thackery rushed from the room.

As the door shut, he glanced to the inviting sight of his pillow. Maybe he could just rest his head until Thackery got back. The track on the CD playing in the boom box changed to a louder, more frantic beat and Mally shook his head. He best not try going back to sleep or Thackery would be sad again.

Instead Mally grabbed his towel and headed for the bathrooms so he could shower. Maybe he could wash away some of the sleep that clung to him.

Thackery was practically skipping down the halls back to his dressing room to get his bass guitar. As he turned a corner he nearly collided with Alice and Tarrant. The duo had been strolling arm and arm down the hallway. Had Thackery been paying attention he'd have heard their voices before he turned the corner, but he was too excited. Tarrant let out a surprised laugh as Alice gave a small shout of surprise.

"Where's the fire?" Tarrant joked.

"Nowhere," Thackery replied as he practically hopped in place. "Just going to get my instrument so I can play with Mallymkun."

"He's awake?" Alice said with surprise.

"Uh-huh," Thackery smiled.

Tarrant glanced between the two not quite catching the drift of their conversation. Alice just shook her head in disbelief. "But how? The first set doesn't even start for another two hours."

"I asked Niven to make a CD of music with a heavy beat. The kind of stuff that usually gets Mally awake and paying attention at the shows. Then I played it in his room as he slept and he woke up. He even agreed to stay awake! I just have to go get my guitar before he changes his mind." Thackery puffed his chest out with pride at the cleverness of his plan.

"Bravo, Thack," Alice congratulated him. She looked at Tarrant. "We should go say hi while he's still awake."

Tarrant blinked. "Why?"

Alice slapped him on the arm. "You're so oblivious sometimes. Haven't you noticed that Mallymkun has been acting unwell?"

"How so?"

"First of all: he sleeps all the time."

Tarrant shrugged. "So? He always slept all the time in Underland. It was part of his charm."

Alice sighed and shook her head. "We're not in Underland anymore. Things work differently here - not that you've noticed. Mally seems more lost and confused during those times that he is awake."

"He seemed fine to me. Always smiling and running around on stage." Tarrant frowned as he tried to figure out what Alice and Thackery were so upset over.

Thackery was practically squirming. "I'm going to go get my bass." He rushed off in the direction of his room.

Alice rolled her eyes and attempted, again, to explain to Tarrant why she and Thackery were upset. However, Tarrant had already begun to wander away down the hall. She shook her head. The man was clearly lost in his own head. She hurried to catch up with him.

Thackery came running back into Mally's room with his guitar and portable amp. He stopped two steps in the door and averted his eyes when he realized Mally was not quite decent, yet. Mallymkun was zipping up his fly with a damp towel draped over his shoulders. "Sorry," Thackery stammered.

"No problem," Mally said as he reached for a plain black t-shirt. "Ready to play?"

"Sure am!" Thackery moved to the chair next to the vanity and set his practice amp down next to the boom box. The CD he had put on to wake Mally up was still playing. He glanced over at Mally to gauge how he was.

The Dormouse was dressed, finally, and pulling his own guitar out of a case next to the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed as he slid the guitar strap over his head. Afterwards he glanced around and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Thackery asked.

"I'm not sure where my amp is," Mally admitted. "I can't remember the last time I played in this room."

"I'll help you find it!" Thackery said and jumped to his feet. He began to move about the room to search the corners for Mally's missing amp. In his excitement he forgot he was attached to a chord and nearly pulled his own amp off the vanity.

Mally lunged the short distance between the bed and the vanity to catch the falling amp. "Careful, Thack!" he called.

Thackery spun and gasped. He then let out a joyful laugh and bounced back to the vanity. "You caught it!"

"Aren't you lucky I did?" Mally commented as he placed the amp back on the vanity. "Oh!" he exclaimed as he caught sight of his own practice amp under the vanity. He pulled it out and sat it down next to the bed so he could plug it in. Thackery settled back to his seat and sat watching Mally expectantly. "Well?" Mally asked. "What do you want to play?"

Thackery blinked as if caught off guard by this question. He glanced around and his eyes lit upon the stacks of sheet music that had piled up next to the boom box on the vanity. "Why don't we try to learn one of the new songs Tarrant wanted to add to the set?" He pulled one off the top at random and handed the sheet to Mally.

"Very well," Mally said as he eyed the sheet music.

Thackery reached over and shut off the boom box so they could practice. Mally yawned and his eyes began to droop shut. With a gasp Thackery turned on his amp and started plucking out an up-tempo bass line. The deep sound of the bass hummed through the room and seemed to perk up Mally's head. "Is that how this song goes?" he asked as he studied the sheet music.

After a glance at which song Mally was holding Thackery shook his head. "No," he admitted. "It goes more like this." He changed the beat to match the song Mally was holding.

Mally nodded along with the beat for a little and experimentally strummed his thumb across the strings. A horrible noise emitted from the amp. The guitar was terribly out of tune. Working with extreme precision Mally quickly re-tuned the guitar. Thackery played the bass line of the first verse over and over again until Mally was ready. Slowly Mally started in with Thackery picking through the chords.

They played on until a stage-hand knocked at the door and told them it was time to get ready for that night's show. For the first time in a long time Mally was awake and alert enough to get himself ready for the show. Thackery was thrilled, but couldn't help but wonder how long this would last. Only time would tell.


	4. Nivens' Regret

Thackery had come to Nivens to ask for his help. After Nivens created the play list the March Hare asked for Thackery was off again. Nivens was left alone in his dressing room once more with his thoughts. He was happy to try to help, but it obvious he was on the outside of the core group of the band. Tarrant, Mallymkun, Thackery, and Alice had only become a tighter knit group since leaving Underland. Even Mally - who spent all his time sleeping - was more a part of the group than Nivens.

Nivens removed his sunglasses and rubbed his tired eyes. The room was lit only by the screen of his laptop where mixing levels danced. Nivens removed his headphones and sat them on the vanity top. He rose and stretched his arms over his head as he crossed the room to turn on the overhead light. The sparsely furnished dressing room lit up under harsh fluorescent bulbs. He caught sight of himself in the vanity mirror back where he had been sitting. There were dark bags under his eyes and his pink eyes were made even more red by the fact that they were bloodshot.

Nivens had not been sleeping well ever since he'd followed the others over from Underland. Instead he spent his evenings in front of Mad T Party laptop and created dance mixes for the shows he DJ'd. Sometimes he wondered why he'd come at all, but he could never forget the debt he owed. It had been many years since his misdeed and in the end everything that turned out well. He still felt he owed Miss Alice a debt for everything she had gone through. What might her life had been like if she had not followed him down the rabbit hole?

As Nivens stood alone when he was struck by a sudden revelation. The band held practices when they could rouse Mally. Alice and Tarrant went out and did things. Chesshur, Absolem, and Thackery sat around drinking tea or playing cards. All Nivens ever did was keep to himself. He shook his head. Of course that was the problem!

With a decisive air he stood up and left his safe haven. It was still early enough in the day that the halls were practically deserted. He made his way directly to Absolem's room. Before he could change his mind he knocked on the door. There was the sound of movement on the other side before the door swung open. Absolem wore a blue terrycloth robe and not much else as far as Nivens could discern. Perched on his nose were his yellow glasses. A haze of smoke filled the room behind him.

"Hello, Absolem. Is it too early for a social call?" Nivens asked.

"Not at all," Absolem said and held the door open for Nivens. "Please, join us."

Nivens entered Absolem's room and found Chesshur lounging on a pile of pillows on the floor. The cat was wearing a pair of blue sweatpants and a matching hoodie. "Well, surprise, surprise," Chesshur grinned. "The White Rabbit has made it out of his hiding hole."

Absolem shut the door and returned to his own nest of pillows beside the ever-present hookah. Nivens frowned at Chesshur. "I wasn't hiding."

Without losing his smug grin Chesshur shrugged. "If you say so."

Uncomfortable under the Cheshire Cat's gaze Nivens shoved his hands in the pockets of his white jeans. He then pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. He barely glanced at the hands before putting the watch back in his pocket. Absolem cleared his throat. "Won't you have a seat?" he asked and gestured toward another pile of cushions. A glance around the room proved that there weren't any actual chairs anywhere in sight.

Nivens sat down and crossed his legs under him. He shifted the pillows around in an attempt to get more comfortable. After he'd finished fussing for a little while he looked up to find that both Absolem and Chesshur were staring at him. Nivens cleared his throat. "So, um. How are you gentlemen?"

Absolem took a thoughtful pull of his hookah. He breathed the smoke out as he said, "Adjusting." Chesshur and Nivens both nodded in agreement. The transition from Underland to this world had not been particularly easy for any of them with the exception of Alice.

"Have you noticed how very long it takes to get from once place to another?" Chesshur pointed out. "And the fact that you have to get there all in one piece! It is very time consuming."

"Yes, well," Nivens said. "I do appreciate how this place functions on a very set schedule. And there really isn't anywhere very far we have to go, is there?"

"Isn't it more the shame?" Chesshur sighed and rolled onto his back across the pillows.

Nivens shook his head. "I haven't really taken a look around the park. What if I didn't make it back in time for the shows?"

"You've got all morning," pointed out Absolem. "This place may be large, but it is not Underland. There are also signs almost everywhere you go. I don't think you could get that lost."

"Well," Nivens started.

Chesshur interrupted. "I think the White Rabbit is feeling a little too safe in his hidey hole."

"That's not fair," Absolem said. "He comes out and does his own performances. He gets up on the stage and places music for the crowds by himself."

"Yet," Chesshur retorted, "he won't go anywhere else by himself."

"I'm hardly agoraphobic," Nivens muttered. He still felt uncomfortable under the pair's scrutiny and he squirmed in his seat.

Chesshur rolled to his side once more to look more directly at Nivens. "That isn't what I'm saying. I think you're still stuck in the past. In Underland. And that is all in your head. If you step outside of your hidey hole you have to accept that things have changed."

Absolem puffed out some more smoke. "I see…" Nivens waited for Absolem to continue, but that was all the Caterpillar said.

"You see what?" Nivens demanded.

"What does it matter what I see if you can't find it for yourself?" Absolem replied.

Nivens let out a sigh of frustration and jumped to his feet. "What are you two talking about? I know things have changed. How could I not? And I'm not hiding! I should have known coming to see you two would have only been a practice in frustration. Good day to you both."

He marched from the room and was halfway back to his room before he stopped. This wasn't why he'd left his room and he refused to go back to his so-called "hidey hole." It would only lend more credit to Chesshur's suspicions that he was hiding.

At that moment Tarrant came walking around the corner and passed Nivens as if he couldn't be seen. The Hatter seemed more distracted than mad as of late, but perhaps that level of distraction is a level of madness in and of itself. Only a moment later did Alice come rushing around the corner after Tarrant. She halted with a surprised "o" on lips. "Nivens! Hi. I didn't expect to see you out and about."

"Well, I am," Nivens said. He pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at the time.

"Are you late?" Alice asked.

Nivens arched an eyebrow at her and slipped the watch back in his pocket. "Late?"

Alice just grinned. There was something of the young girl that had followed Nivens into Underland still in the face of this blooming young woman. "You know. For a very important date?"

"Well, no." Nivens considered the question. "There has been a lack of very important dates as of late."

Alice's grin turned into a warm smile. "Maybe we can fix that. Would you like to come to tea with Tarrant and me? We were going to visit a café in the park."

"I wouldn't dream of intruding," Nivens said automatically.

Alice gazed shifted down the hall in the direction that Tarrant had disappeared. "I wouldn't say it was intruding, but I won't push you if you don't want to come." Her blue eyes turned back to Nivens' face. "You look tired, Nivens. Maybe you should get some sleep."

"I haven't felt very tired," Nivens said and immediately knew he was lying. "Well, perhaps tired. I just can't seem to have the desire to go to bed." He tried to grasp what the feeling was exactly.

"Maybe Mally is soaking up all the sleep rays?" Alice offered as a joke, but there was concern in her voice.

Nivens tried to smile for her. "If only that were the case." He looked back down the hall and Tarrant had completely disappeared from sight. "Don't let me keep you from him, Miss Alice."

"You don't have to call me Miss Alice," she laughed and put a warm hand on his arm. "Take care of yourself Nivens. I know you can. Tarrant on the other hand…" She gave him a wink and took off at a jog down the hall after Tarrant. Nivens watched her go and felt the absence of her presence immediately.

After a moment of indecision he gave up and reluctantly made his way back to his room. His short excursion gave him a lot to think about and maybe trying to get some rest would help sort his thoughts. He shuffled back into his room and shut the door behind him.

The laptop's screensaver glowed in the dim room with just enough light that he could make his way to the roll-away cot that he'd barely used. He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his jeans and crawled under the covers in just his t-shirt and boxers. He reached down under the cot and pulled out the tiny wind-up alarm clock. He set it to go off in an hour and laid back down.

He laid his head on the pillow and right away felt an itchy urge to get back up. There must be something he ought to be doing. His limbs felt restless as he attempted to shut his eyes and rest. He hadn't realized how heavy his head felt until he laid down, but still his body rebelled against sleep.

Back in Underland there were always things to do. Places to go and meetings to keep. He wasn't without an important date for such a long time. Ever since they came here from Underland the only appointments Nivens had to keep was the shows. Those were easy to make and required only that he had fresh play lists. Well, he'd spent so many of his restless nights creating those that he had more than enough for several months of worth of shows.

Again he found himself wondering: if there was nothing for him to do here then why was he here? Alice seemed happy and didn't need him. He had resigned his position for the White Queen to come here. Even if he went back could things really go back to the way they were? He had begun to feel restless. After being a double agent between the Red Court and the Resistance the day-to-day life of court had seemed dull.

So what was next for the White Rabbit? Sleep finally won out over his restless and anxious limbs and he slept deeply for the first time in a long time. It was a dreamless and restorative sleep so deep that he slept through his alarm. He didn't wake until a stage hand came in and shook him awake before his first set of the evening.

The question still remained: what purpose did Nivens' life have now? And what should he do to find that purpose? Would his debt ever be repaid?

Nivens dressed quickly in his white outfit, grabbed his White Rabbit ears and laptop, and went out to make the crowds dance. If only that were enough.


	5. Alice's Ward

That evening's show had gone off without a hitch. Mallymkun's performance hadn't seemed hindered by his lack of sleep that Alice could tell. He strutted the stage and played with the audience as usual. She had been concerned about him for so long, but he wasn't the only one Alice worried about in the band.

Alice steered Tarrant back to his own room through the bustling halls backstage of the Mad T Party show. Stage hands were closing down the show for the evening and moving to and fro. Tarrant had been schmoozing with the crowd of fans as they had left the stage and didn't seem to recognize that they'd left the public spaces behind. He continued to try to shake hands and hug the passing staff. The staff was tolerant of the distraction because, unfortunately, this was not the first time.

"Why, thank you," Tarrant said as he took a bag of garbage from someone walking past like it was a bouquet of flowers. The young woman's eyebrows shot up and Alice just smiled at her.

"Here Tarrant, I'll keep this for you," Alice said. Tarrant handed the bag to her and continued town the hall. As he turned away Alice handed the bag back to the stage hand. She smiled at Alice sympathetically and went about her job.

Alice followed Tarrant and managed to wrangle him back into his room. He stopped in the middle of the room and glanced around as if looking for something. His eyes turned to Alice as she shut the door behind them. "Where is everyone?" he asked. "Where have all the fans gone?"

She smiled at him sweetly. "Everyone is going home for tonight. They'll be back tomorrow."

Tarrant's face fell. He slouched over to his vanity and slumped into the chair. Alice went over and knelt beside the Hatter. She began helping him out of his shoes and costume as he stared dejectedly at himself in the mirror. He hummed quietly to himself as Alice helped clean away his stage make-up.

As the traces of his stage persona disappeared his humming stopped. When Alice sat back to survey her work Tarrant smiled at her kindly. "Hello, Alice. Is it tea time?"

She smiled back. "We'll see if Thackery and Mallymkun are waiting for us in the lounge, shall we?"

"Excellent!" Tarrant's smile grew. He stood up and looked down at his half-dressed state. Alice had removed his shoes, his spool belt, and his pointy-shouldered jacket. He wore just his shirt and pants. His eyes bugged as if surprised. "Alice! I'm not decent!"

"I'll let you finish changing. I'll meet you in the hall."

She left the room and gently shut the door behind her. Tonight was particularly bad for the Hatter. They could usually sit through the after show tea without his stage persona being so prominent. At this rate Mally may be sleeping before Tarrant would be ready to join the others for tea. Alice was especially concerned because Thackery had managed to wake Mallymkun up so much earlier before the show than usual.

Tarrant emerged just a few minutes later dressed in his usual clothes: an oversized coat, his button-down shirt and vest, slacks, bowtie, and his ever-present top hat. He tipped his hat to Alice then offered her his arm. "Shall we proceed?"

"Thank you," she replied and they strolled through the calmer halls to the lounge the band used to gather and eat. She let Tarrant ramble on about whatever caught his eye as they walked and smiled politely.

Still, Alice watched Tarrant with a careful eye. He seemed back to his normal self. It was amazing what a change of clothes could do to change the man. Tarrant had always been a little all over the place and hard to focus, but lately it was like he couldn't see much beyond the role he was trying to play. In his stage costume he was the ultimate rock star. They tried dressing him in jeans and a t-shirt and he became very subdued. His entire personality muted and it scared Alice. In his own clothes he was very much himself. The Hatter could wear a variety of hats, but who was the real man? Perhaps even what Alice thought of as "Tarrant" was just another persona he wore? That thought scared her more than anything. Perhaps she didn't know her dear friend as well as she liked to think she did. Worst of all: what if it was her fault? She had spent so much time in Underland that she didn't imagine asking the boys to come here would affect them so drastically.

Alice tried to shrug off the uneasy feeling creeping up through her belly and taking up residence in her chest. One thing at a time, she reminded herself. And it was tea time. Mally and Thackery were both still up and had not yet poured the first cup of tea when Alice and Tarrant finally joined them. Thackery watched Alice and Tarrant with a wary look. Alice suspected he knew something was up with the Hatter. Mallymkun was still riding his after-show high and talking animatedly with Thackery. The Dormouse had been much too preoccupied with sleep to recognize the change in his friend. Maybe if Thackery manages to keep Mally awake Mally could help. Alice could only hope. She wasn't sure who else she could turn to with the riddle of the Hatter and she feared he was only going to get worse.


	6. Thackery's Failure

Thackery was very pleased with himself. He'd managed to keep Mallymkun up and awake through all of the sets that evening. As the pair sat and waited for Alice and Tarrant to join them for their after-show tea Mally showed no signs of slowing down. Though, just to be on the safe side, Thackery suggested they waited for until the others arrived to partake of their evening ritual.

"You know what we should do again?" Mally was saying. "That part where I'm shredding on my guitar and you come through my legs with your bass. The crowd really liked that!"

Thackery shook his head and blushed a little. "You don't think that was too suggestive?"

"Suggestive?" Mally stopped for a moment and tilted his head to the side. "Maybe that's why they liked it so much!"

They laughed so hard that Mally doubled over in his seat. Thackery paused and watched afraid that the Dormouse would fall asleep before he sat back up. A moment later Mally sat back in his chair and attempted to catch his breath.

"How are you feeling, Mally?" Thackery ventured.

"I feel great! Imagine doing so many shows in one night! We should do this all the time," Mally said as he practically bounced in his seat with excitement.

Thackery frowned. It was as he suspected: Mally's concept of time and order of events was completely skewed after he slept. "We should suggest that to the others," was all he said.

Alice and Tarrant walked into the lounge at that moment and Thackery looked to them. The two walked in arm and arm. Tarrant was smiling and out of his stage costume, but Alice's brows were knit together as she watched him. Perhaps Mally wasn't the only one having a hard time leaving Underland? Alice and Thackery's eyes meet - her blue eyes to his violet and green - and he felt he was right. He looked back to Mally. They were all having a blast, but at what cost?

"Hey, guys! I thought you'd never show up," Mally jumped to his feet. He held a chair out for Alice and Tarrant helped her into it. Thackery watched and felt that right now everything was fine, but was it really? Mally and Tarrant took their seats as Thackery served the tea. "You know what I think we should do?" Mally continued. "We should do more than one set a night! That was a blast."

Tarrant's gaze went unfocused as if he was trying to grasp what Mally was talking about.

"But Mally," Alice began, but was cut short by Thackery's emphatic head shaking. "Uh, um… that's a great idea." She smiled at Mally, but Thackery could tell it wasn't a genuine smile. It was more the smile an adult gives a child for tying his own shoes.

Tarrant took a sip of tea and seemed to settle into his seat. The grin returned. "This tea is of excellent quality."

"Well, it did have an extra long time to seep," Thackery pointed out.

"Perhaps Alice and I should exercise being fashionably late more often!" Tarrant laughed.

Mallymkun took a large gulp of his tea. "At least its still warm!"

Alice and Thackery looked at each other over the table as they each began their tea.

Tarrant was on his second clean cup of tea when Mally's chin started to tilt towards his chest. Thackery watched as the Dormouse's eyelids began to droop. "More tea?" Thackery asked.

A sleepy smile crossed Mally's lips. "Yesh, pleash…" A subtle snore then followed.

Thackery sighed. "Well, he was awake more today than he has been for months."

Alice nodded and reached across the table to pat his arm. "He seemed happy and alert. We can try again tomorrow."

Thackery smiled at her and nodded, but couldn't help feeling that perhaps his fix was only a temporary one.

Tarrant looked between the two of them as if they were speaking another language. "Is something wrong?"

Thackery was back in Mallymkun's room after the Dormouse had been given a solid eight hours of sleep. The March Hare stood at Mally's vanity and pressed play on the boom box. A thumping beat came from the speakers. Almost right away Mallymkun began to stir. Excited at the immediate response Thackery began to bounce where he stood.

Mally's leg began to twitch under the blanket in time with the beat. He rolled over onto his back and yawned while he pushed the covers down to his waist. "Is it show time?" he murmured.

"Nope!" Thackery nearly leapt the short distance between the vanity and the bed. He took Mally's hand and helped sit him up in bed. "I thought we could go get lunch in the park today!"

"Hmm," Mally murmured. He absently rubbed his belly through his tank top. "I could use a bite to eat. Sure."

Thackery nearly hopped in place. "Great! I'll let you get dressed. Meet you in the lounge in five minutes?"

"Deal," Mally said and actually got out of bed of his own volition without Thackery's help.

Thackery left Mally's room so he could dress and bounced down the halls to the lounge. The minutes passed like hours and with each one he wondered if the Dormouse would actually make it out of his room. He'd left the music playing, but would Mally make it all the way to the lounge without becoming drowsy?

Finally Mally came into the lounge. Thackery's face fell. The Dormouse was dragging his feet across the floor and his eyes were barely open. "Mebbe we can just eat here," Mally said as he collapsed into a chair.

"Sure. Let me make up some sandwiches," Thackery said. Before he even got the ingredients together Mallymkun was snoring. He made Mally a sandwich anyway and left it on the table beside where the Dormouse had nestled his head in his arms. Thackery just didn't have it in him to try to move Mally back just yet.

Thackery left Mallymkun to his rest and aimlessly wandered the halls of the backstage area. He figured Alice probably had her hands filled with Tarrant and he didn't want to let her know his plan hadn't worked. As he turned a corner he found a familiar grinning face before him as if he were waiting there for Thackery to show up.

"Good morning, Thackery," Chesshur all but purred. "How are you this glorious morning?"

"Chesshur," he replied with a frown. He was not in the mood for the Cheshire Cat's games today. "I've been better. And yourself? It is so hard to guess with that stupid grin always plastered on your stupid face."

_Tsk, tsk,_ Chesshur shook his head. "Woke up on the wrong side of the bed, have we?"

"Not exactly," Thackery mumbled and pushed past the Chesshur to continue down the hall. Chesshur glided down the hall after him and Thackery could feel his grin over his shoulder.

"I think I know what is gnawing on our March Hare," Chesshur teased.

"I would say its pretty obvious to everyone."

"Perhaps. Perhaps everyone, but Tarrant."

They walked on in silence for a little longer. When Chesshur gave no indication of leaving him alone Thackery started making his way back to his room. It didn't seem to take Chesshur very long to figure out where they were headed.

"I have a thought on how to help," Chesshur finally said.

This gave Thackery pause. He turned to look at the oversized cat. He was dressed in blue jeans with the blue hoodie and looked very casual. "And what kind of help might you be offering this time?"

Chesshur waved away his concern. "The helpful kind of help. You want to help Mallymkun wake up nice and alert in the mornings, right?"

"Yes," Thackery said slowly. He was wary of whatever help Chesshur was famous for doling out.

"There is this amazing drink ever so popular here," Chesshur continued. "It sharpens the mind and invigorates the body."

With a heavy sigh Thackery turned to face the Chesshur. "Okay, I'm listening."

Alice and Tarrant had managed to get Mallymkun back in his room while Thackery was out getting the things needed to prepare this miraculous drink Chesshur had suggested. If Thackery had been more aware of local custom to drink this drink about every three hours, he wouldn't have had to look so hard. It was already in the lounge, but he didn't know that. He went out into the park to seek his last-ditch effort.

He brought the paper cup back to the Mad T Party dressing rooms later that afternoon with enough time to get Mallymkun up and ready for the first set of the day. He let himself into Mally's for the third time in as many days and went straight to the boom box. This had already proved a successful method for rousing the Dormouse from his deep sleep. He pressed play and waited for Mally to wake up. It didn't take very long at all.

"Is it time for the show?" Mally asked with a yawn.

"More or less. We have plenty of time to get ready before we have to be on stage," Thackery said as he pulled the chair from the vanity over to sit in front of Mally.

Mallymkun watched him before glancing back to his pillow. "You think I could catch a few more 'z's?"

"I brought you something," Thackery said and handed Mally the cup.

Mally took a sniff of the contents and his nose wrinkled. "This tea smells really strange."

"That's because," Thackery explained, "it is not actually tea. It is coffee!"

"Coffee, huh?"

"Yeah. Want to try some?"

Mally looked at the cup suspiciously. "Have you?"

Thackery frowned. "Well, no."

Mally smiled. "Okay then!" And he sipped the coffee. "Its hot like tea," he commented. Then took another sip. "Yet it tastes completely different." Before he long he had drained the entire cup. "Thank you, Thackery."

"You're welcome. I'll let you get ready for the show then, okay? Did you need any help?"

After a moment of thought Mally shook his head. "Nope, I have this I think." He smiled at Thackery and threw the empty paper cup away in a garbage next to the vanity.

"Okay, see you before the show." Thackery stood up and left. He couldn't tell if the coffee had any effect on Mally or not. Good or bad, Thackery hoped he had done the right thing for his friend.


	7. Mallymkun's Rush

The aroma of the drink Thackery had placed in Mallymkun's hands was pleasantly pungent. Mally's first sip of the drink made him realize this was not tea. It was hot, but bitter tasting. He took another sip and another. With each sip it felt as if his very cells were waking up. He liked this drink! By the time Thackery got up and left so Mally could get ready for the show he felt his heart pounding. It was like being on stage in front of a cheering crowd, but without the hot lights or blaring music. The rush started in his chest and spread out to his limbs and finally settled in his head.

Mallymkun

felt

amazing!

He dressed himself for the show and did his own stage make up. Dayum, he looked sexy! He felt confident and alert. He felt aware of every hair on his body - and each one was vibrating with the excitement of going out there and playing an amazing show!

Mallymkun left his dressing room with a bounce in his step. Thackery - who was already dressed in his stage clothes - was leaning against the wall directly across from Mally's door. His hands were fiddling with the scarf tied around his neck until he looked up to see Mally. Then his hands dropped to his sides.

"You look great," Mally exclaimed. "Don't worry." He reached over and straightened the knot on the scarf.

A blush rose on Thackery's cheeks and made Mally smirk. Goaded on by Thackery's reaction Mally slid his fingers into the March Hare's hair until his fingertips touched the floppy ears. Then he scratched the sensitive skin there. Thackery's blush deepened as he squirmed away. "Hey!"

"You're right," Mally said. "We should save it for the crowd." He turned and began strutting toward the stage area. Thackery had to rush to keep up.

Chesshur joined them from his dressing room as they passed. As per usual - the cat was grinning. "My, my, Mally. You look rather… invigorated."

Mally shot him a devilish grin. "Just you wait and see."

From behind Mally heard Chesshur say: "See: it is working like a charm." Thackery mumbled something in reply, but Mally was too focused on getting to the stage. He had a feeling tonight's show as going to be the best show ever. His heart was pounding and he was giddy with excitement.

Nivens' set wasn't quite winding down yet as Mally reached the stage. He just marched right up there and over to the teacup the White Rabbit ran his music from. Nivens blinked up at him in surprise. Without a second thought Mally climbed into the booth with him and threw his arm around Nivens' shoulders.

"Your music rocks," he shouted over the music with hopes he could be heard through Nivens' headphones.

Nivens nodded and leaned in close to Mally to be heard over the music. "Thanks. So does yours. Um, you know you're early right?"

"I am aren't I? I'm sorry man! I'm just so pumped!"

Nivens quirked an eyebrow. "If you say so. This is my last track then I'll do your intro. Okay?"

"Totally!"

Mally climbed out of the tea cup booth and did a stroll down the front of the stage. Already a number of the fans were in place and waiting for the band to take the stage. Some of them were familiar faces, but there was a good mix of new people as well. Mally bent down and fist-bumped some of the crowd. He stopped for a picture, which only precipitated everyone else's cameras and phones popping out.

He made one more pass back across the stage to the steps where the rest of the band was waiting. Thackery and Chesshur had paused at the steps. Absolem was standing behind them with the hood of his vest pulled up over his head. Alice was leading Tarrant over in the rear. "Are we ready to do this?" Mallymkun said with a smile. He pumped his fist in the air and lead Absolem, Chesshur, and Thackery back onto the stage.

Absolem paused by Mallymkun as the Dormouse was putting his guitar on. He leaned in close and said, "Are you feeling well?"

"I'm better than well. I'm amazing," Mally said with a reassuring pat on Absolem's shoulder.

The Caterpillar just shook his head and went to stand behind his keyboards. Once his guitar was in place Mally glanced over to Thackery. The March Hare was still adjusting his bass. In front of Mally, Chesshur took his seat behind his kit. He spun his drumsticks and nodded at Mally. Mally nodded back just as Nivens began announcing the band.

"Now put your hands together and give a warm welcome to our very own: Mad Hatter!" Nivens said. His music ended as the Mad T Party Band began to play.

Tarrant strutted onto the stage with his arms open to the crowd. Mally strummed his guitar and bounced his leg to the beat as Hatter got the crowd going. The cheers just heightened all of the Dormouse's senses. The world was an explosion of color and sound, and he was at the center of it all.

Mally and Thackery danced and ran around the stage during the songs. They acted surprised to see Alice arrive on stage and played to the audience. Mally reached over at the beginning of "Very Merry Unbirthday" and started playing Thackery's guitar from his left. Thackery looked at him surprised for a moment, but rather than push the Dormouse away he just went with the flow. He folded his hands over the back of his head and gave the crowd a "Look Ma, no hands!" look. Mally pulled away just in time to pick up his part of the song and Thackery was there to take over.

Between two songs, Mally and Thackery were leaning against each other in front of Chesshur's drums. Thackery was grinning out at the crowd and nodding very animatedly to whatever Alice and Tarrant were saying. Mally reached over and brushed his fingers down Thackery's cheek - which was soft and slightly slick with sweat. When Thackery turned his face to look at him Mally planted a kiss on the end of his nose. Thackery's eyes opened wide in surprise and a blush flushed his cheeks. A wicked grin crossed Mally's lips as the crowd howled. Alice glanced over her shoulder confused, but had missed what set the crowd off.

Tarrant stepped to the back to let Alice sing her solo. Thackery and Mally stepped up to either side of Alice managing to completely invade her personal space. She just smiled and stroked Thackery's scarf before strutting away. Mally glared at Thackery and the crowd laughed. Why were they laughing! Alice should be paying attention to him!

The next time Alice took center stage Thackery had dropped to his knees and shuffled toward her. Mally forcibly inserted himself between them to smile victoriously down at Alice. She smiled at him as she sang. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his thigh. A glance down showed Thackery leaning forward and biting him on the thigh! The crowd cheered and screamed. Mally threw him a glare, but as he turned his back on the crowd he couldn't help but smile. He loved it when the crowd reacted to their antics! Tonight felt like their reactions were one hundred times stronger.

As Alice addressed the crowd Mally and Thackery jumped and spun behind her. Mally found himself facing Thackery as a heavy beat was about to come up. With perfect timing Mally kicked out a foot at Thackery as if he were kicking the March Hare. Thackery reacted by flailing and spinning away with him. The crowd cheered!

Mally turned his focus back to Alice and stalked her back across the stage. He leaned in right over her shoulder as she sang the last line. Mally could only get so close with the guitar between them, but he closed the gap as much as possible. He was sure Alice could feel his breath on the side of her neck where her hair had fallen down her back and left the tender flesh there exposed. Mally leaned in a nuzzled her neck and was met with howls from the crowds. Discreetly he flicked his tongue out and licked the salty sweat just below Alice's hair.

Alice gasped and looked at him as he pulled away. Mally have her a wink that only those up front could really see. This time he turned and strutted away from her. He shot a triumphant smile at Thackery, though the March Hare could not have known what he'd done.

The set continued on, but for some reason every time Mally tried to get close to Alice she discreetly fled from him. He wasn't usually for games of "cat and mouse" given the precarious state the mouse. Mally tried flirting with Absolem, but he was too far back on the stage to incite the proper crowd reaction. Chesshur's seat behind the drums made him completely out of the way. He finally turned his attention back to Thackery.

During the last song of the set Thackery had moved to the front of the stage and was emoting to the crowd. Mally strode right over and snaked his arm around the neck of the bass guitar. He proceeded to play his guitar with his arm linked around Thackery's instrument. He smiled out to the crowd and they cheered. It was nearly impossible to untangle himself so he played through to the end of the song before he broke away. He smiled back at Thackery, and though Thackery smiled back it wasn't as large as his usual smiles.

With the set finished Tarrant announced the House of Cards performance and promised that they'd return. The band left the stage to the cries and cheers of the crowd. Mallymkun smiled and waved, but his attention was already focused on what he could do in the next set to top this one.

The band made their way back to the lounge to relax before the next set. Mally sank into a chair and kicked his feet up on the table. He leaned back and folded his hands behind the back of his head as he smiled at the others. Thackery sat down next to him and Tarrant opposite him. Alice looked at the empty seat next to Mally then back to Mally.

"That was totally inappropriate," she said after a moment's pause.

Mally blinked at her in confusion. "What?"

"What you did on stage," she hissed. She crossed her arms across her chest and frowned down at him.

He really was at a loss as to what Alice was referring to. Tarrant and Thackery both seemed confused as well. "Is everything okay?" Thackery asked.

"Ask him," Alice challenged. "Ask him what he did on stage."

Tarrant smiled and squirmed in his seat at the challenge. "Oh! A game. Yes, Mally! What did you do?"

"I did a lot of things," Mally replied. He was not sure of which thing Alice was referring. "If you ask me, I killed it tonight. This was great. I don't get what the problem is."

Alice leaned down so she could look Mally right in the eyes. "You know which thing. With your tongue."

Mally tilt his head to the side as the pushed to recall. "You mean when I licked you?"

Suddenly Tarrant was out of his seat and his chair had fallen over on the floor. "You LICKED her?" All traces of Tarrant's rock star persona were gone. His eyes were clear, angry, and directed at Mally.

"He kissed me," Thackery mumbled quietly as Chesshur seemed to appear in the doorway.

"I saw that," Chesshur added with a grin. He leaned in the doorway and twirled a drumstick in one hand.

Mally pulled his legs off the table and sat up straight in his seat. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable with the group's scrutiny. "What? We all play to the crowd. Thackery bit me."

Tarrant leaned forward and planted both of his hands on the table as he glared down at Mally. "This is different. Does Alice seem like she enjoyed being licked?"

Alice took a step back and blushed. "That is beside the point. The point is you took it too far, Mallymkun."

Mallymkun frowned and stood up so he could take back the height advantage. "I don't see what the big deal is! The crowd was eating it up. The fans love it. They love us. They love me!" His heart was pounding out of control and he felt sweat beading up on his forehead.

Thackery stood up with his hands out in front of him between Tarrant and Mally. "How about we all take a deep breath and calm down?"

"Calm down?" Tarrant and Mally said at the same time as they both turned on Thackery.

"How can I possibly calm down? My energy is crashing through me like a river off a waterfall! I need to go out there and use it!" Mally practically yelled. That got everyone's attention again.

"Um," Alice said softly. "Are you okay, Mally?"

"Why is everyone asking that?" he asked, exasperated. "I'm great! Now if you'll excuse me, I think there are some adoring fans who need my attention now more than you do." Mally turned and stormed out of the room. Where Chesshur had been blocking the exit a moment before he was then across the room rummaging through the refrigerator.

As Mally marched down the hall he heard Thackery say, "I think this is my fault." Mally made his way out of the backstage dressing rooms to find a small crowd that had broken off from the main party waiting around with cameras. He smiled and joined them with open arms. Mally decided to spend the time between sets socializing with those who truly appreciated him. Pictures were taken. Flirty words and glances were exchanged. A few slips of paper with phone numbers found their way into his pants pocket with empty promises to call. Everything was great. Mally was up, awake, and more focused than ever before. Why was the band so upset?


	8. Tarrant's Changing Hats

Mallymkun stormed out of the room with a wild look in his eyes. The rest of the band stared after him in shock and amazement. Except for Thackery. Tarrant was fuming. How dare Mallymkun take liberties with Alice? He pushed away from the table and started to take off after the impertinent Dormouse. Alice stepped between him and the door and placed her hands against his chest.

"I think this is my fault," Thackery said.

Alice looked past Tarrant to Thackery. "Of course it isn't," she insisted. She gently nudged Tarrant back to the table. He reluctantly conceded. "Mally is a grown . . Well. . . Dormouse. He is responsible for his own actions."

Tarrant took the empty seat before him since his was still laying, upended, on the ground. He shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Why do you think this is your fault?" he asked Thackery before he opened his eyes to look at the March Hare.

"I might have given him coffee," Thackery admitted as he sat back into his own seat.

Tarrant blinked. "Coffee?"

"It is a popular drink in this world," Alice informed him. "Most people use it as a drug to wake themselves up and keep them going throughout the day." She sat in the seat Mally left vacant. She looked to Thackery. "I can see the logic in giving Mallymkun coffee, but he is apparently having a very bad reaction to the stuff. The caffeine levels are much different than tea."

"I had no idea," Thackery moaned and rested his head against the hard surface of the table. "Chesshur said it would help."

Tarrant's gaze shifted from the downtrodden Thackery to the Chesshur who was attempting to discreetly leave the room. "Oh he did, did he?" Tarrant asked. He stood and moved to block Chesshur's escape. "Were you aware, Cat, what kind of an effect this coffee would have on our Dormouse?"

Chesshur smiled and licked his lips. "I had discovered the drink early on after we came here from Underland. These humans drink the stuff like water. I had no idea it would work so well on the sleepy mouse."

"I see." Tarrant frowned at Chesshur. "Is there anything we can do?"

Alice sighed. "I don't think so. We'll just have to let this run its course."

Chesshur nodded in agreement. "It will pass from his system in time. He'll be fine."

"He'd better be." Tarrant didn't bother to veil the threat before he stepped aside for Chesshur to leave. The cat fled quickly from the lounge.

"I'm so sorry," Thackery moaned. He hadn't lifted his head yet. "I brought Mally the coffee."

Alice reached over and patted Thackery's shoulder. "You couldn't have known. Chesshur probably didn't either. This is probably all some great entertainment to him."

Tarrant strode over to where Alice was seated and knelt beside her. He took up her other hand and looked her in the eyes. She stared back, her blue eyes wide in surprise. "Alice. Are you okay? Has Mallymkun done anything else untoward or harmful towards you this evening?"

She blinked and gently shook her head. "Honestly, this makes some sense now. I hope that he'll be okay for the rest of the sets this evening, but it is kind of a relief that it is just the effect of caffeine." Her cheeks were still bright red and she shifted uncomfortable in the chair. He could tell she was still upset over what had passed, but he didn't know how to fix it. Mally was obviously not himself, Still his behavior was completely unacceptable. Tarrant would not stand for it!

Of course, he was kneeling.

The room feel into a tense silence and Tarrant moved to an empty seat. He tried to form a plan to deal with this. They had three more sets to do this evening, so his first concern was making sure nothing happened to Alice again. That shouldn't be too hard.

His next concern was…

Was…

What tea would they serve this evening? Tarrant got up and started rummaging through the tea cabinet.

The tea cabinet had probably started life as a full-sized pantry. Two doors went from floor to ceiling and opened outward to reveal a small closet-like room with shelves. Each shelf was packed with tins and boxes of tea. On some of the lower, larger shelves there were tins of tea on tins of tea in front of tins of tea. A veritable cornucopia of tea.

Tarrant leaned in the tea cabinet and let his eyes roam over the many shelves of tea. He tried to remember which tea they'd drank last night. Was it the vanilla chai? Perhaps it was the African Autumn? He ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth as he tried to recall the taste of last night's tea. The aroma had been very pungent. He remembered it was a very sweet tea - almost like candy. Candy. Candy! That was it! Peppermint tea!

Peppermint. What a strange kind of flavor Pepper indicates a type of heat or spiciness, but peppermint was rather mild in comparison to actual peppers. The mint was also not very evident in the flavor.

"Five minutes 'til curtain," a voice interrupted Tarrant's thoughts. He turned to find one of the very helpful stage hands standing at the door with a mic over his head.

Tarrant frowned. "Curtain? Are we re-doing the draperies?"

The stage hand cast a concerned look to Alice and Thackery at the table where they were shifting to stand. "We'll be there," Alice said, but she shot her own wary glance at Tarrant.

Before the stage hand could disappear back out the doorway Thackery asked: "Has Mallymkun been informed?"

The stage hand gave a nod after checking with his headset. "The stage manger reports he is already in position."

"Thank you," Thackery said and the stage hand left.

Alice walked over to Tarrant and gently pulled him away from the tea cabinet. Tarrant's mind wheeled and turned in an attempt to catch up with the conversation. "Is it . . . tea time?"

Alice gently shook her head as she shut the tea cabinet doors. "No, Tarrant. Not quite. First we have to entertain some guests."

He continued to frown. He did not feel like accepting guests at this time, but he couldn't really explain why. "Must we?" he asked as Alice began to lead him out of the lounge behind Thackery.

Thackery shot him a wide-eyed look. Even Alice seemed taken aback for a moment. "Yes, Tarrant. As they say: the show most go on."

Tarrant harrumphed. "What? Are we performing for the Queen?"

"You never know," Alice said sweetly before turning to look at Thackery. Tarrant couldn't read the silent exchange, but he didn't care. He passively allowed Alice to lead him through the building.

They left the building and passed through an open area with people milling around. This all felt strangely routine, but Tarrant was having a hard time remember what was next. They stopped by a set of stairs where Chesshur and Absolem were already waiting.

"Where's Mally?" Thackery asked.

Chesshur pointed up the steps. "He is already on stage."

"Of course he is," Thackery sighed.

Tarrant felt Absolem staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably under the Caterpillar's scrutiny. "Is he okay?" Absolem addressed Alice.

"I think Mally's behavior has pulled Tarrant back to himself," she said softly.

"I am always myself," Tarrant pronounced. Alice patted his arm gently.

"Does this create a problem?" Absolem asked.

Alice shrugged. "We'll find out."

Before Tarrant could accuse them of speaking over his head Thackery, Absolem, and Chesshur all ascended up the stairs. He was left alone with Alice. This time it was his turn to gently touch her shoulder. He recalled she had been upset. "Are you okay?"

Her big blue eyes blinked up at him in surprise. A single tear escaped down her cheek and left a dark streak in its wake. He noticed she was heavily made up and reached over to wipe away the offending black mark with his thumb. "I will be," she whispered in the sudden silence. He hadn't even noticed there had been music playing.

Then he heard, for the second time actually, "The Mad Hatter! C'mon folks, maybe he needs some encouragement!" Nivens' voice was amplified and followed by the sounds of a crowd cheering.

Alice pushed a hand-held mic into Tarrant's hand. "That's your cue," she said as he wondered where the mic had come from. Alice not-so-gently pushed him up the steps.

At the top he emerged on a raised platform in front of a swell of people. He noticed Mally, Absolem, Thackery, Chesshur, and even Nivens spaced about the stage. His focus was drawn directly to the crowd. A smiled popped into existence on his face and he knew just what he was there to do. The cheers turned cacophonous as he raised the mic to his mouth and said, "Are you ready?"

The lyrics came to him as easily as if they were being carried by the sounds the instruments created. He got lost in the sound and activity of the moment and the rest of the evening flew by in a blur. He was either on stage strutting and singing, or he was off to the side talking, laughing, and taking pictures with the crowd. This was his existence - always and forever.

One odd thing bugged him though. On stage: every time Mallymkun moved toward Alice, either Thackery or himself got between the two. Mally spent most of the evening leaning against the pillars on either side of the stage or standing in front of Chesshur's drums.

Finally they were doing the last song of the fourth set. Mallymkun was shredding on his guitar at the front center stage. He was down on his knees as the crowd cheered. Then he was leaning back. And back. Further back until he was practically laying on the stage with his legs folded under him. The band played the last notes together and the crowd went wild, but Mally did not get up.

Tarrant went over and stood over Mally to find he'd fallen asleep just as he was with his guitar in his hands. Thackery and Alice wandered over to check as well. They each exchanged a puzzled look. Tarrant didn't recall anything like this happening before. The crowds' cheers quickly became sounds of concern.

"Don't worry folks, "Tarrant said to them with a smile. "It seems our Dormouse has fallen asleep! How very unprofessional of him!" As Tarrant spoke, Absolem and Thackery worked together to get Mally off the stage. The crowd began laughing. They assumed this was all part of the show. "Thank you for coming to see us tonight," Tarrant continued. "We hope to see you again for tea soon!" The crowd cheered and Tarrant followed the rest of the band off stage.

The stage hands managed to untangle the guitar from Mally before Thackery and Absolem got him back to his room.

"I guess that's why they call it a crash," Chesshur said with a shrug before disappearing through the door to his own room.

"Do you think he is going to be okay?" Alice asked and turned to Tarrant.

Tarrant reached out and gently brushed Alice's hair from her sweat-slicked forehead. "Yes. Yes, I do," Tarrant said with more confidence than he actually felt and kissed the top of her head. That was the job of the leading man.


	9. Nivens' Help

Nivens glanced at the digital clock on his laptop. It was just after three in the morning and he still sat in front of his laptop playing with the mixes for the show. His eyes burned and he glanced over at his bed, but it still seemed less than inviting. He stretched his arms over his head and felt his spine pop as he straightened it from being hunched over the keyboard for the last two hours.

He removed his headphones and set them on the vanity beside the open laptop. The room was silent. There was no sound of movement outside his door our voices coming down the hall. Everyone else was surely asleep in their own beds. Especially Mallymkun - who had experienced an eventful evening. Maybe a glass of warm milk would help get Nivens to sleep?

Nivens headed out of his room and navigated the darkened halls toward the shared lounge. He may not have his own tall ears anymore, but his hearing was still excellent. As he passed the closed doors he could hear gentle snoring from those that were occupied. He could tell which ones were empty.

As he passed Alice's door he paused for a moment. The sounds of quiet sobbing came from behind her closed door. Had tonight been too distressing? Mallymkun had been a little wild, but other guys had done their best to shield her from them. Or was it something else? The bigger question: was it any of his business? He debated with himself whether or not he should act.

Finally he shook his head and kept on toward the lounge. He poured himself a mug of milk and warmed it in the microwave. When the microwave beeped he removed the mug and started his trek back to his room. Again, he paused at Alice's door. The sobbing continued.

With a deep breath Nivens gently rapped on Alice's door. He heard a startled cry and the rustling of sheets. "Who's there?" came Alice's strangled voice.

"Nivens," he replied. "May I come in?"

"Just a moment," she called back. There was a flurry of movement before the door opened and Alice looked out at him through the crack in the door. Her blue eyes were red and puffy. Her blonde hair was hastily pulled back into a messy ponytail. She wore a baggy red t-shirt and pair of black shorts which looked strange on her. Nivens' eyebrows shot up slightly. He'd never seen so much of Alice's legs and it seemed indecent. However, he was interrupting her in the middle of the night. What did he expect? He was still dressed in his white jeans and shirt from the show, though it was unbuttoned to reveal a white tank top beneath. He had to imagine his own pink eyes were bloodshot and his hair was slightly messy. "Nivens?" Alice asked. "Are you okay?"

He laughed. "I was about ask you the same thing. May I came in? I come bearing warm milk."

"Please, come in," she said with a small smile.

She let the door swing open. Nivens noticed as she turned away she tried to discreetly wipe tears from her face. He frowned and followed her in shutting the door behind him. Alice sat at the edge of the unmade bed. Nivens handed her the warm milk and pulled the chair away from her vanity to sit across from her. He gave her a moment as she took a sip of the warm milk then sighed a deep breath. A little of the tension seemed to melt out of her petite frame.

"Feeling better?" he asked her after a second of silence.

Her eyes shut she nodded. "Yes, thank you. A little."

"What to talk about it?" he prompted.

"I don't know where to begin," she admitted as she looked over at him. "I think I need to apologize to all of you."

Nivens blinked, taken aback by the statement. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I brought you all here, and most of you seem to be having trouble since we arrived. Mally sleeps all the time, but seems to be confused about where he is or how long he has been here every time he wakes up. Tarrant's personality seems more fluid than ever," Alice's voice began to crack. "You don't look like you've slept at all."

Nivens looked away. He hadn't realized how obvious it was to her. "That is not your fault," he tried to reassure you. He reached out and touched her shoulder gently. He felt her tremble beneath his hand. Tears began to spill down her cheeks as he looked back to her. "Oh Alice, please don't cry. None of this is your fault. We all came willingly."

"Because I asked you to," she sobbed. The milk trembled in her hands. Nivens reached and grasped both her hands and the mug in both of his. He gently pushed the milk toward her lips and she took a long sip. Her trembling stopped.

"I don't know about Dormouse and Hatter," Nivens admitted. He brought his hands back to his own lap as Alice steadied. "I do know my restlessness has nothing to do with you, but with my own shortcomings."

Alice blinked at him and her eyebrow knit together. "What are you talking about? Nivens - you are doing a great job. The crowds love your sets."

He smiled at her attempts to reassure him. "Thank you, Alice. That is not all there is, though. I feel . . . regret. You followed me down that rabbit hole when you were just a child. Since then you've grown to this strong and caring woman, but how drastically your life changed when you came to Underland. That is my fault."

"Oh Nivens," Alice sighed. Now she reached for him, her hand grasping his own and forcing him to meet her gaze. Tears still streaked her face. "Underland was strange, and terrifying, and the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. I wouldn't take back any of that, not for a moment. It brought me to all of you. Which is why I selfishly wanted to bring all of you with me."

Nivens reached over and cupped her face gently with both of his hands. Her eyes widened in surprise. With his thumbs he brushed away her tears and she smiled. "You saved us, Alice. We needed you. You have never truly needed us."

"That's not true," she whispered and her eyes glanced away. Nivens took his hands back and folding them in his lap once more. "I need you all now, and I feel like I'm losing you."

"Is this about what happened tonight?" Nivens asked. "Mally was acting out of sorts."

Alice shook her head. "Thackery gave him coffee and it caused him to temporarily act out. I think he'll be fine. I just wish his sleeping habits weren't so disconcerting. No. This has more to do with Tarrant."

"He has always been unpredictable," Nivens began, but Alice shook her head again.

"Its more than just unpredictable. He keeps flipping back and forth between this rock star persona and his normal self. Yet, when he does, it is as if the other doesn't exist. Then tonight. . ." she trailed off.

"What happened tonight?"

Alice took a deep breath then launched into her story of what happened between sets. In the end, she concluded: "I'd never seen him so . . . So. Not just defensive, but protective. So possessive of me. I appreciated it, but what if it is just another persona surfacing? What if he is fracturing more?"

Nivens considered her words for a moment, then chose his words carefully. "You worry that all these different personas are separate pieces of him?" Alice nodded. "That they are not really a part of him?" Alice nodded again. "I think you're wrong," Nivens finished. "I think they are all a part of him, but he is compartmentalizing them."

"What does that mean?" Alice asked, distressed.

"I'm not too sure, but don't fear Alice. Rock star Tarrant, the Tarrant you know, and this protective Tarrant are all him. I think each thing he experiences is truly him. He just isn't connecting them all very well."

"So," Alice said. "There isn't another Hatter? One that I don't know?"

Nivens shook his head. "I don't believe so."

"So, when he acts possessive and defensive?" she asked.

"It is how he truly feels. About you. I think we all do, but perhaps Tarrant feels it deeper." With that said, Nivens realized he did feel it himself. It was what had been keeping him up at night. He felt he was letting Alice down because she didn't need him.

"Thank you, Nivens," she said.

Alice sat the mug down on the floor beside the bed and leaned forward to close the distance. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Nivens felt his cheeks flush with her sudden closeness. His arms wrapped around her tiny frame and hugged her back. He felt his own tension melt out of him and a bit of relief seeped into his core. "Anytime," he whispered against her neck.

She sat back and smiled at him. "I feel much better."

"I'm glad to hear it," he said. He stood up. "I'll let you get some sleep then. You have a good night."

"I will. You, too."

"I think I will." Nivens left and shut the door behind him. He felt a calm spreading through him and a release of anxiety. By the time he got back to his room he was pleasantly exhausted. He collapsed into the rollaway bed an fell fast asleep for the first time in a long time.


	10. Alice's Feels

Alice crawled back into bed as Nivens left. She felt as if a great sadness had been lifted by his words. However Tarrant may act towards her, she should keep in mind that he cares for her. But how far does that caring go? She also felt better that Nivens looked a little better as he left. Only morning would tell for sure. As her thoughts drifted sleep crept in and stole her away for the rest of the night.

The next morning Alice woke up late, but felt better than she had before as she showered and dressed for the day. She threw on a pair of dark blue jeans and a blue tank top with a light-weight black cardigan. She braided her hair, slid into a pair of blue flip flops, and left her room in search of the others.

As she wandered the halls she came across Nivens' room. His late night visit was still fresh in her mind. She pressed her ear to his door and listened. She couldn't hear anything. She tried knocking lightly, but still nothing. Finally she just opened the door a crack and peeked inside. Nivens was sprawled across his small rollaway bed dead asleep. He was nearly as bad as Dormouse, but it made Alice smile. He really needed the sleep. She quietly shut the door and continued on her way.

There were a few of the stagehands in the halls. Alice greeted them as she passed. In a very circuitous route she ended up at the lounge. Thackery sat on the couch on the wall with his bass in his lap. His fingers played along the strings. The sound was muted and sounded strange not coming through the amps.

"Good morning," Alice said and went to the fridge in search of breakfast.

"Morning," Thackery grunted in return.

Alice pulled a plate of sliced apples out of the fridge and sat in on the table. She took one up and frowned over at Thackery. "You're not still beating yourself up, are you?" Thackery didn't respond. "It wasn't your fault," she tried to remind him.

"We'll see what he says when he wakes up," Thackery sighed. He stood up. "I'm going to go back and practice in my room."

She pouted at him. "Why'd you even come out then?"

He just shook his head and disappeared out of the lounge. Alice sat down and ate a few more of the apple slices, but she felt lonely. The one person she really wanted to see hadn't made an appearance yet. After she'd finished the apple she put the plate in the sink and went looking for him.

She checked his room first, but he wasn't there. The door was unlocked, but the room was dark. "Tarrant?" she called. No answer.

Next she checked in the lot next to the Mad T Party area. It was empty.

Finally she went and checked the Mad T Party stage. Hatter was sitting on the edge of the stage staring into space. He was dressed in his normal clothes: slacks, button up shirt, vest, oversized overcoat. His hat ever present upon his red hair. She hadn't seen him out on the stage out of his stage clothes. She walked around to the front of the stage and gazed up at him. His eyes seemed like they were seeing far into the distance through more than just space, but also time. She waited for him to notice her.

After a long while she reached forward and placed her hand lightly on his knee. He blinked and looked down at her. "Alice?" he asked. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," she said with a smile. "What are we doing?"

He took a deep breath and held it for a moment as his gaze wandered out over the empty space once more. "Trying to determine where we are."

"We're at the Mad T Party stage, of course."

"Yes," Tarrant said with a nod. "But why am I here?"

Alice folded her hands over his knee and rested her cheek upon them. She shut her eyes. "I asked you to come here," she said softly.

She felt Tarrant's fingers brush some of the loose strands that had escaped her braid back away from her face. "Yes, you did. And happily we came. I came."

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him. "Do you regret that decision?"

He smiled warmly down at her and shook his head. "Not one bit." His fingers traced her jaw line down to her chin. She felt warmth flood her cheeks. "Why do you worry so much, Alice?"

"Because I care," she said without a thought.

"We've been through worse," he reminded her. "You and me. And Thackery. And Mallymkun. Chesshur, Aboslem, and Nivens, too. You helped make us stronger."

She shook her head. "No. It was you who helped me."

He laughed and it warmed her heart. "Perhaps we can agree that we helped one another." He patted the empty stage beside him. "Come here."

Alice turned so her back was to the stage. She planted her hands on the stage and jumped to join him. He put his hand under her arm and helped pull her onto the stage so they were sitting side by side. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Are you happy here?" she asked softly.

"Hey," Tarrant said. His free arm crossed in front of him and she felt him touch her chin. He turned her face so her eyes met his. "I'm happy with you."

Alice blinked back tears. "Tarrant. Don't say things you don't really mean."

His brow furrowed and his hand dropped back to his lap. "Why wouldn't I mean what I say?"

"Because lately you've been saying what you think people want to hear. What you say on stage is for the crowds. What you say to the fans back stage is for them. What you said last night to Mally…"

"I mean what I say," he interrupted. "At least, I do when I say it."

Alice nodded. "I'm sure you do. So please, be careful what you say to me when we're alone."

He looked back at her in confusion. Alice shook her head and buried her face against his arm. "Don't be sad, Alice." He rubbed his hand up and down her arm.

"I'm not." Her voice was muffled against his coat. "I'm scared."

There was a moment of silence. Slowly Tarrant asked: "Scared of what?"

"That I'm losing you guys." Alice gushed. "Losing you, more than anything else Tarrant."

"Why do you say that?"

She took a deep breath to organize her thoughts before she pulled her head back to look up at him. He looked so confused. "It feels like you're fracturing, Tarrant. I'm never sure which side of you I'm going to see, or when those side are going to shift. Nivens tried to reassure me that they are all you, but do I even know the real you?"

Tarrant grasped her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. "Of course you do. Back in Underland I thought we got to know each other very well."

"But did that version of you stay in Underland? If so, who am I talking to now?"

He shook his head. "I don't understand. I'm still me. I'm still Tarrant."

Alice smiled and gently pulled her hand from his to touch his cheek. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry."

He put his hand over hers and held it to his cheek. "No, I'm the one who is sorry if I've caused you so much distress."

Alice chuckled. "Lets just say we're both sorry."

"No," he insisted. "This is very serious. Alice: none of us are here against our wills." As he spoke she pulled her hand away. How had he so quickly figured out what she herself was struggling with? He continued: "You came to us in our time of need. We'd happily do anything for you."

She felt her jaw drop open in a surprised "Oh."

"We love you, Alice."

Alice blushed fiercely. "I love you guys, too."

"May I be blunt?"

"You haven't been already?" She let out a little laugh.

He cut her laugh short when he ducked forward and pressed his lips to hers. His lips were soft and warm, but firm. Her breath caught and her eyes fluttered shut as she returned the sudden kiss. His hands came up and cupped her face. She twisted in her seat to better face him.

Before the kiss could deepen and take both of them with it, Tarrant gently pulled back. "Make no mistake: **I** love you, Alice."

"Oh, Tarrant," Alice sighed.

"Shh." He pressed a finger to her lips. "You don't need to respond. Despite anything else I put you through, remember I love you."

"Thank you," Alice said as another tear slipped down her cheek. Tarrant wiped it away and nestled her head back against his shoulder. They sat together in silence for a little while longer.


	11. Absolem's Burden

Absolem sat upon his customary pile of cushions and pulled on his hookah. It wasn't quite noon yet, but he'd expected Chesshur by now. The mischievous cat usually woke late, did a tour of the Mad T Party grounds, then made his way to Absolem's room to - for the lack of a better word - gossip. The routine had developed over the first few months out of Underland until it was almost like clockwork.

Absolem had awoken his usual time of eight in the morning. He'd done his daily cleaning and absolutions rituals. Now he sat in a pair of dark blue track pants and a white t-shirt calmly awaiting Chesshur's arrival. He mostly smoked the hookah to pass the time.

Finally a knock came at his door. He took one more pull from his hookah then blew out the smoke as he said, "Doooo come in."

The door cracked open and Nivens' head popped in. Absolem's eyebrows rose in surprise to find the White Rabbit haunting his doorway so soon. "Am I interrupting?" Nivens asked.

"Not at all. Please, come in." Absolem put the mouth-piece of his hookah down and motioned to the array of empty cushions that formed a loose circle in the middle of the floor. He'd pushed the furniture to the walls: his rollaway bed, a chair, his vanity, and his practice keyboards.

Nivens came in and shut the door behind him. He was dressed in white jeans and a white t-shirt, but with a blue vest on for a splash of color. Absolem watched as the White Rabbit surveyed the array before awkwardly trying to setting on a precarious pile of throw pillows. "Um, thank you."

Absolem nodded his head toward Nivens. "You're quite welcome." As their gazes met Absolem noticed his guest's eyes were not bloodshot as they had been for months. "You look well rested. For once."

"Yes." Nivens cleared his throat. "Thank you for noticing. I got a very good nights sleep last night."

His interest piqued Absolem asked: "To what do we owe this new development?"

Nivens was still attempting to rearrange the pillows beneath him. "Actually, Alice helped."

Immediately Absolem was glad Chesshur had not made it in, yet. There was so much trouble the cat could cause with just that little bit of information. "Oooooooh?" Absolem commented.

The White Rabbit froze and stared over at Absolem. "What do you mean 'ooooooh?'"

"I am just curious as to how our young and beautiful Alice helped you with your sleeping arrangement? Perhaps by sharing your bed?"

Nivens' cheeks turned as pink as his eyes. "No! Not at all! I'd thank you kindly to not. . . speculate such, such lecherous thoughts about me."

Absolem shrugged and reached for his hookah. He found Nivens' fluster both entertaining and telling. "Forgive me. It is just that our Alice has bloomed into a rather beautiful young woman. I don't think any of us have missed that."

"That is beside the point!" Nivens crossed his arms over his chest and wound up sitting with his legs folded under him upon a single pillow.

"May I ask: how did Alice help?"

Nivens let out a puff of air. "We talked. That was all."

"How very lacking in scandal. I approve." Absolem nodded and pulled on his hookah.

"Did someone just say scandal?" Chesshur had appeared in the doorway. Neither Absolem or Nivens had heard the door open. He was dressed in his customary blue sweat suit when he wasn't on stage.

"No!" Nivens sputtered.

"I was just commenting on the lack of scandal," Absolem pointed out. "Good morning, Chesshur. Would you like to join us?"

Grinning, as per usual, Chesshur slinked into the room and settled across several pillows. He laid upon his side so he could face both Absolem and Nivens. "Don't mind if I do," he practically purred as he nestled into the cushions. "Besides. I've seen enough scandal so early in the day."

Nivens looked anxiously between Chesshur and Absolem. Absolem refused to rise to the Cheshire Cat's baiting. He'd spill the beans in his own time and Absolem refused to give him the satisfaction of squirming. Besides, Nivens was playing into that well enough.

"What do you mean?" Nivens finally asked when it was clear Chesshur wasn't going to continue.

"Maybe I shouldn't say," Chesshur demurred.

Absolem blew some smoke out. He attempted to do some O's, but he was having a harder time mastering them in this world. They never seemed to last very long. "Perhaps you shouldn't have say anything to begin with." That was his line. Chesshur expected him to say it, so he did.

"Well, when you put it that way," Chesshur said his line in response.

Nivens was sitting ram-rod straight in anticipation, or was it fear, of what Chesshur was about to say. Absolem just rolled his eyes. It was probably something about how the sun always rose in the same place - it must be hiding something. Or the way lights in the bathroom turned on automatically when you enter. Absolem had discovered the sensor the first time he went in, but it continued to surprise Chesshur. Either way, Absolem did not expect anything of actual importance to spill for Chesshur's lips. The cat had been fishing for something to latch onto for quite some time outside of Underland.

"What is it this time, Chesshur?" Absolem finally prompted.

"I'd hate to kiss and tell - especially since I did none of the kissing, but all of the telling," Chesshur smiled.

Absolem blinked at that.

"What do you mean?" Nivens demanded.

Chesshur shrugged and ran his fingers through his black and blue hair. "Just that. I saw Alice and Hatter kiss upon the Mad T Party stage not more than ten minutes ago."

"That means very little," Absolem said secure in his assumption that the Cheshire Cat was blowing some smoke of his own. "Alice is always giving all of us little pecks and warm touches. I'm sure they were just going through the routine."

Nivens began to relax in his seat, but Chesshur let out a laugh. "Unless our show requires confessions of undying love, I doubt it."

"What?!" Nivens shot straight to his feet. "Alice didn't mention anything about being in love with Hatter!"

"Relax," Absolem tried to calm the White Rabbit. He looked to Chesshur. "What are you talking about? Speak plainly."

"I am! I was walking the grounds, as I usually do, when I saw the two of them sitting on the stage. He had his arm around her oh so tenderly. They gazed into each others eyes. A vow of love was exchanged, sealed by a kiss." Chesshur huffed as if put out by Absolem's distrust.

The color drained from Nivens' face. "Alice can't have fallen for it! Unless, after what I told her last night. . . ."

Chesshur's eyebrows perked up as he looked at Nivens. "Oh, were you and she having a lover's rendezvous last night as well?"

"Hardly!" Nivens marched toward the door. "Please, excuse me."

Absolem sat and watched - taking in the scene before him. Nivens reaction seemed extreme. He looked over to Chesshur who continued to lounge on the cushions. "You must be awfully proud of yourself," he commented after Nivens left.

Chesshur blinked at him wide eyed and innocent. "I can't imagine what you mean."

"I don't know what you think you saw, but you wouldn't have embellished it so much had it been just you and myself. Nivens made the perfect mark, didn't he?" Absolem accused.

With a sigh Chesshur collapsed back on the cushions so he looked up at the ceiling. "This world is so dull. It is rare to find something of interest in this place outside of being on stage. So what if one does what they have to do to keep things interesting?"

Absolem shook his head. He'd been trying to keep Chesshur occupied, but apparently he was failing. Who knew what new trouble the cat may have just caused for their friends, but Absolem did know he was going to have to make it right.


	12. Tarrant's Challenge

Alice eventually excused herself, but Tarrant chose to stay on the Mad T Party stage. If Alice was right and his personas were fracturing, maybe sitting here would help bring them together? Or at least closer? He remembered performing on this stage. Strutting around and singing. Playing to the crowd and knowing how to leave them wanting more. It was just that those memories seemed. . . far away somehow. Like the memory of watching a reflection through a distorted looking glass.

He ran his hand over the stage where Alice had been sitting. Already the spot was cooling, but the memory of her still burned bright in his mind. The feel of her in his arms. The warmth of her against his lips. Tarrant's heart sped at the memory. He'd meant what he said. He just hadn't expected to say it. Then again, isn't that always the case?

Alice was a surety in his life. A constant that was always there when he needed her. To not love her, not appreciate her - that would be abhorrent. Of course he loved her.

With a heavy sigh Tarrant flopped back onto the stage. His hat tumbled for his head and he ran his fingers through his hair. His mind was racing at the speed of light and he couldn't focus on any one thing. There was only one thing to fix that! Tea!

Tarrant kicked his legs up over his head and did a reverse-somersault until he was crouching on the balls of his feet. He reached over and reclaimed his top hat. Without straightening his hair he placed the hat back upon his head and stood up. He grabbed the lapels of his coat and began marching off stage while swinging his elbows. A large smile crossed his face. Tea would bring everything into focus!

As Tarrant neared the steps that would lead off the stage Nivens came barreling up them. The White Rabbit was flushed and his pink eyes narrowed on Tarrant as he came face to face with the Hatter. "You!" he cried.

"Yes, it is me," Tarrant continued to smile at him and paused. He tipped his top hat to Nivens. "Good morning, Nivens. Would you care to join me for a spot of tea?"

Nivens blinked and shook his head. "What? No! Where's Alice?"

"Alice?" Tarrant tilted his head to the side and shrugged. "She was just here. I don't know where she is now."

Nivens let out a gasp and his eyes got really big. A finger came up and pointed at Tarrant in an accusatory manner. "So, it is true!"

"Nivens, I mean this in the best way possible. Please understand I know this means a lot coming from me: you are not making any sense."

The White Rabbit sputtered. "Me? This is about you! What have you done to Alice? What did you say?"

Truly puzzled Tarrant just blinked at him. "What do you mean? I haven't done anything to her. And we talk quite a lot, so I'm not sure which thing I said that you're referring to."

Nivens balled his fists at his sides. "Did you take advantage of that poor girl?"

"What!" Tarrant's face turned red. "How dare you accuse me of something so vile! Of course I did not!"

"So," Nivens said, his voice low, "you didn't tell her you loved her and . . . And. . ." He couldn't seem to finish the sentence.

Tarrant's jaw dropped open. "Oh, well. Yes. I did do that." Without warning Nivens lunged forward and shoved Tarrant. He stumbled backwards and looked at Nivens shocked.

"How could you! Alice is so young! So innocent! You can barely keep your head on straight! How dare you!" Nivens yelled.

Tarrant cleared his throat and straightened his coat. "How could I not," he said in a strained voice. His attempt to keep calm was evident. "She has done everything for us. We all love her. Don't we?"

Nivens blinked. "Well, yes…"

"Then why can't I love her, too?"

"We don't all go around kissing her!" he pointed out.

"I see," Tarrant said with a knowing smile.

Nivens took a step back. He seemed suddenly unsure of himself. "What do you see?"

"You're just upset that I beat you to the punch, old man." Tarrant laughed and wagged a finger at him.

The color drained from Nivens face. "That is not the case at all. And I'm not an old man," he mumbled. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.

Tarrant smirked. "Sure. The long and short of it is: Alice is no longer the young girl who blindly followed you into Underland. She is a grown, young woman. Her affections are hers to keep and none of your business. Unless, you feel her affections should be for you?"

Color flared across Nivens' cheeks once more. "I said no such thing."

Tarrant laughed. "Then the matter is settled. Now, if you'll pardon me: I think I'll have a spot of tea. Good day, sir." He smiled at the White Rabbit and patted him on the shoulder before moving around him. He left Nivens standing on the stage alone and made his way to the lounge for tea.

Still, there was something in Nivens' accusation that gave Tarrant pause. He did his best to squish the wormy feeling in the back of his head, but it wouldn't go away. Alice was no longer a little girl, but was she wise enough to know how to push him away if it was what was best for her? That he didn't know. Tarrant didn't regret telling Alice he loved her. Or kissing her. He always meant what he said, but could he always follow through with it? That would be the test.

And then there was Nivens. He suspected the White Rabbit felt a small part of responsibility for Alice, but he'd never imagined his feelings were deeper than that. He'd been calling Nivens out just to throw the White Rabbit off, but what if his accusations were closer to the truth than he'd like? If they all loved Alice, as he believed they all did, then would he have to compete for her affections? He was sure until just a moment ago that his love stood out and was unique. Was he wrong?

His mind continued to bubble and boil over with these questions until he sat down in the lounge with his first cup of tea. The hot and soothing liquid calmed his thoughts, if only for the moment.


	13. Mallymkun's Crash

Mallymkun began to rise through a deep sea of sleep to the sound of a steady beat. He fought against the rhythmic tug of consciousness until he was just below the surface. His limbs were twisted in blankets and sheets. He felt his head half covered by a pillow. Still, his eyelids felt like lead weights that refused to open. His mouth had a foul taste and his tongue felt thick against the back of his teeth. He yawned and rolled onto his side with his back to the wall.

The sound of music playing became clearer and Mallymkun's eyes finally peeled open to find he was back in his own bed. Thackery sat at the vanity a few feet away He was pulling anxiously on his ears. Mally's eyes slid shut again. His head began to throb in tempo with the music. He groaned and buried his head between the pillows. "Can you shut the music off?" he groaned.

There was a click and the music shut off. With a sigh of relief Mally pushed the pillow off his head. His eyes fluttered open and found Thackery still sitting at the vanity. He'd pulled his ears over his face and peering out from behind them. "Are you okay, Mally?" he asked from behind his ears.

Mally propped himself up on his elbows. "My head is kind of fuzzy and pounding. What about you?"

"I'm so sorry!" Thackery gushed. He dropped his ears and it his was flushed red. Thackery flung himself from the chair to kneeling beside Mally's bed so quickly it was if he'd fallen.

"For what?" Mally blinked in surprise. He sat up fully and pushed the tangle of sheets away.

"For yesterday," Thackery said. "I shouldn't have given you the coffee. Its all my fault!"

"Yesterday?" Mally struggled to push through the haze of sleep to recall yesterday's events. "Coffee?" He remembered the strange tasting beverage. With that memory came the flood of others and what happened last night. The color drained from his face. "Oh my."

Thackery slid up and sat on the edge of the bed. He threw his arms around Mally in a surprisingly strong embrace. "Forgive me, please?" He buried his face in Mally's neck.

"There's nothing to forgive," Mally mumbled through his surprise. "You couldn't have known what would happen. The question is: will Alice forgive me?"

"Of course she will. She has to!" Thackery sat back and gripped Mally by the shoulders. "We can both go and apologize together. I'll explain how its my all my fault. You didn't know what you were doing!"

Mallymkun hung his head. "That's the thing, though. I did know what I was doing. I just didn't think beyond doing it."

There was a long pause. Mally was afraid to look up and see how Thackery was looking at him. Would it be in shame? Horror? Disappointment? Those were all the things he felt about himself in that moment.

Thackery released his shoulders and Mally shrank back in fear for whatever was coming next. He didn't expect Thackery to cup his chin with his thumb and finger and lift his face so they were looking each other in the eye. What Mally saw was far from disgust. "We can get Alice to forgive you," Thackery said. "You have to forgive yourself, too."

Mally felt a tension he didn't realize he was holding release. He nodded and looked away. "How long do I have before we have to get ready for the show?"

"At least an hour."

"That should be enough time for me to find Alice, apologize, then give her space before we go on."

"Want me to come with you?" Thackery's voice was soft and tentative.

Mally shook his head and looked back at the March Hare. "No, this is something I have to do myself."

Thackery left so Mally could get dressed and find Alice. Mally put on a pair of black jeans with a red t-shirt before slipping on his stage boots. They were his favorite shoes. Then he went off in search of Alice. His head still kind of hurt, but his mind felt a lot clearer than usual this early in the day. Maybe because it was consumed with guilt and anxiety. He couldn't blame Alice if she didn't want to see him. Ever. He'd behaved like a jerk.

First place Mally looked for Alice was the communal lounge. He found Nivens there alone eating a salad at the table. He was already dressed in his stage gear. Nivens looked up to find Mally in the doorway. "Mallymkun! Are you feeling all right?"

Mally shrugged. "I've been better. Have you seen Alice?"

Nivens flushed red and dropped his fork against the plate. "What? No! Why would I have seen Alice?"

Mally blinked at him. "No reason. If you do, could you let her know I am looking for her?"

"I probably wont," Nivens mumbled as she scooped his fork up once more. "See her, that is."

Mally shot him one more confused glance before looking elsewhere. He tried Alice's room, but there was no answer when he knocked.

He tried Tarrant's room after. The door was ajar, but there was no one inside. The lights were off, but Mally could make out the shapes of top hats on every surface. He shook his head and continued looking.

Next, he checked the bathrooms. Alice wasn't there, but he did find Tarrant singing in the showers. Mally stepped into the steamy room and waited for a break in the chorus before calling out: "Tarrant?"

"Mally!" came the cheerful reply. The water shut off and within moments Tarrant appeared with a white towel wrapped around his waist, a pair of flip-flops on his feet, and a plastic-covered top hat upon his head. "Good day! Out for a swim?"

"Not exactly," Mally said. "Do you know where I can find Alice?"

The cheerful look on Tarrant's face froze then quickly melted away. His eyes narrowed at Mally and the Hatter charged at the Dormouse wagging a finger. "Why are you looking for her? What are you going to do to her this time!"

Mally held his hands up and tried to look non-threatening. "Nothing! I wanted to apologize for last night."

Tarrant stopped within arm's reach of Mally and his face went placid once more. "Oh? Well, that's good then!" He smiled once more. "I was worried for a moment!"

"Please believe me when I say: I didn't mean to make Alice uncomfortable."

Tarrant laughed. "Of course I believe you! Just: between you and Nivens I was worried I'd have my work cut out for me."

Mally blinked at the Hatter as the man turned away towards the sinks. "Nivens?" Mally asked, but Tarrant was already distracted by his own reflection. He drew the outline of his face in the fogged up mirror and began singing to himself once more. With a shrug Mally gave up and moved on.

He searched the halls, the stage, and every place in between. Thackery hadn't seen her and offered, again, to come with him. Absolem and Chesshur were deep in a discussion involving the politics of light and air. That brought Mally back to Alice's door once more. Perhaps he had just missed her the first time?

Mallymkun knocked on the door again. This time he pressed his ear to the door and listened. There was definitely movement inside the room. "Alice?" he called out at the movement inside froze. "Please open the door. I need to talk to you."

Slowly the door opened just a crack and Alice peered out the door at him with one blue eye. "Mallymkun?"

"Were you expecting someone else?" he asked.

She ignored his question. "Are you feeling more yourself?"

"More or less," he sighed and sagged against wall next to the door. "Can we talk?"

She nodded and let the door swing open. She was dressed in a pair of grey seat pants and an oversized black t-shirt. Her make up was set up out on the vanity. "Am I interrupting?" Mally asked as he entered her room. He noticed it smelled a lot nicer in this room than the other rooms he'd visited. Flowery and just overall more girly.

"I was just about to start my make-up, but it really doesn't take that long anymore. Please, have a seat." Alice gestured toward the bed and she took the chair at the vanity.

"This shouldn't take long," he said. Mally sat at the edge of the bed and placed his hands on his knees. He twiddled his thumbs and stared intensely at this hands.

After a moment Alice cleared her throat. "Well?"

He finally looked up at her and met her eyes. "I'm very sorry for my behavior last night, Alice. It was completely out of line and I didn't mean to upset you."

Alice finally smiled and seemed to relax. "Thank you, Mally. I understand you were a bit under the influence of a heavy dose of caffeine."

"That doesn't excuse my behavior," he said and glanced away.

"You apologized," Alice said and stood up. She took the few steps to close the space between them and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace.

Mally sat surprised for a moment before sliding his arms around her waist to hug her back. Relief flooded through him. "Thank you!" he said and hugged her so tightly she nearly toppled onto the bed with him. She laughed and he let her go. She ruffled her fingers through his hair.

"You ready for tonight's show?" she asked.

"I will be!" Mally stood up. "I promise not to get that carried away, again."

Alice nodded. "The crowd did love it, though. Just please keep your tongue to yourself this time. Okay?"

Mally blushed and nodded. "Will do. See you before the show!"

He left Alice's room feeling like a weigh had been lifted. And wide awake! He went back to his room to get ready for the show. He had a feeling tonight's performance was going to be amazing: caffeine-driven gimmicks or not!


	14. Absolem's Effort

Absolem was sitting at the table in the lounge after the show with Tarrant, Alice, Thackery, and Mallymkun enjoying some after show tea. Chesshur was curled up on the couch against the wall pouting at them while he attempted to ignore that they were there. Normally Absolem would have retired to his own room after a show, but Chesshur's hijinks was keeping him on his toes this evening. He felt obligated to keep an eye on the Cheshire Cat for the time being, but the show had gone off without incident.

Mally seemed to have gotten forgiveness from the rest of the band before they went on stage and things went smoothly through each set. The only tension Absolem could spy from his place behind the keyboards was a tense look or two between Nivens and Tarrant. That was something that could be dealt with later. Nivens was still on stage running the last of his music as the Mad T Party grounds wrapped up for the evening.

"Next time," Mally said before he was interrupted by a large yawn. The Dormouse was fading fast. "Maybe next time we can try something different with our exits."

Thackery smiled at Mally, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "That's a good idea."

Absolem nodded in encouragement. It was obvious Mally was falling back asleep, but he seemed more coherent about what has happened over the last few days than he has been over the last few months. Maybe there was some progress made with Chesshur's meddling there.

Alice had grown quiet. Absolem followed her gaze over to Chesshur. The cat had curled up even further and buried his face in his arms. Absolem watched Alice get up as Tarrant started brainstorming with a lightly dozing Mally and she walked over to where Chesshur lay. She knelt by his side and considered the cat for a moment before slipping her fingers into his hair and scratching him behind his ears. A surprised eye peered out at her from behind his arms.

"What are you doing?" Chesshur asked.

"Is it bothering you?" Alice replied.

"Where'd you learn to answer questions with another a question?"

Alice smiled at him and continued to rub behind his ears. "Gee, I wonder."

The chatter at the table died and Chesshur looked over to find everyone was watching him and Alice. Absolem watched the cat frown and swat Alice's hand away. She pouted and he rubbed his face with both of his hands.

"I'm going to bed," Chesshur announced. He rolled off the couch barely missing Alice who tried to slide out of the way. He sauntered out of the room as everyone watched.

Alice slid onto the couch and sighed as she rested her elbows on her knees. "I hadn't realized how unhappy he was."

Mallymkun was snoring gently. His finger was still hooked in the handle of his tea cup and it was beginning to tilt to the side. Tarrant was looking quizzically between the other members of the band. Thackery was frowning, but didn't seem able to keep his eyes off the dozing Dormouse. Absolem got up and went over to sit with Alice.

"I don't think you need concern yourself too much, my dear," he said. He wasn't sure if he should put a hand on her shoulder, or her knee, or try to take her hand. So in the end he left his hands folded in his lap. He felt a little at a loss without his hookah or his keyboards to keep his hands occupied. "I think a sense of ennui has taken a hold of our Chesshur. Perhaps we should just give him some time and space."

Alice raised here eyebrows and looked at him. "You think so?"

Absolem nodded. "I do."

"What's Ah-Knee?" Thackery asked. He tugged nervously at his ears.

Tarrant patted the March Hare's shoulder. "It is an illness developed from drinking tea that has not been properly brewed and served in a clean cup."

"Oh my!" Thackery said.

"Thanks," Alice said quietly to Absolem as she ignored the other guys.

Absolem smiled at her. "You've been dealing with quite a lot recently," he said as he motioned to the rest of the band. "Let me deal with Chesshur." Alice nodded. "And if you need to talk my door is always open."

"Got it," she said with a smile. She stood up and rejoined everyone else at the table.

Absolem stood and stretched. "I do believe I will call it an evening. Gentlemen. Lady." With a small bow he left the lounge.

As he walked the halls he came across Nivens. The hour was later than he had estimated if Nivens' set was over. "How did the rest of the evening go?" he asked the White Rabbit as they walked side by side.

"Fine," Nivens said, but he was acting a bit cagey.

"Running off to your hidey hole?" Absolem smirked.

Nivens huffed. "Absolutely not! Its late. I'm just returning to my room for the evening like anyone else would do."

"If you say so." Absolem walked with Nivens in silence until they reached Nivens' door. "May I come in and have a word with you before you retire for the evening?"

The White Rabbit gave him a wary glance, but nodded his consent. The two entered the room together. Nivens collapsed onto the small bed, but Absolem remained by the door. He wasn't planning on staying long.

"What is it?" Nivens asked.

"Just a word of advice about Chesshur," Absolem said. "Don't rise to his baiting. He'll continue to do it if you keep reacting. I'd also recommend taking anything he says with a grain of salt. He has a tendency to embellish the truth to make things more interesting."

Nivens seemed to be considering Caterpillar's words. "But does he ever flat out lie?"

"He can twist the truth so much it doesn't resembled itself anymore, but no. No, I don't think so."

"That's what I thought. He wasn't completely off about Tarrant and Alice," Nivens pointed out.

Absolem's eyebrow quirked. "And that matters to you how?"

Nivens sputtered. "It doesn't! Just. Well, you know. Alice . . . She's still young. And impressionable. And Hatter isn't quite right all the time."

"And you have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility for the young woman," Absolem pointed out.

"That's beside the point." Nivens crossed his arms.

Absolem considered Nivens. The man was blushing in an unusual fashion. Perhaps there was something more there than he'd anticipated. Or Chesshur's words had managed to create something more than was originally there. He sighed inwardly and shook his head. "Just keep my words in mind. Have a good night, Nivens."

"Goodnight, Absolem."

Absolem left Nivens to his own devices and continued down the hall. Perhaps Chesshur had accomplished more than he had anticipated when it came to Tarrant and Nivens. And where would that leave poor Alice? Only one way to get to the bottom of this: he'd have to confront Chesshur and plainly call him out on his actions.


	15. Chesshur's Chagrin

Chesshur had stormed off in a huff from the lounge. Alice's attempt to comfort him made his hackles rise. He didn't like attracting everyone's attention when he wasn't trying to do so.

Things just hadn't been going his way lately. He'd gone through a lot of trouble to make things interesting and it was all for naught. Mally took the stage that night and everyone acted as if hadn't been a complete disaster the night before. He honestly hadn't expected the caffeine in coffee to have such a profound effect on Mallymkun's self control. Besides some tense glances between Tarrant and Nivens there was no evidence that his carefully placed words had any effect on either of them. Even despite what he'd seen on the stage that afternoon even Alice and Tarrant didn't act any differently towards one another.

Chesshur sulked into his room and shut the door behind him. He'd opted for a loft bed instead of one of the rollaway beds the rest of the band hand procured. It gave him a high place to sit and watch the door while leaving more floor space below for comfy pillows and chairs. He shucked his jacket and kicked off his shoes. Chesshur abandoned both items of clothing on the floor as he climbed atop his bed where he curled up in his fluffy comforter and pillows to mope.

This world was so dull! No queens trying to behead anyone. Gravity always functioned in the same direction. The rules of physics were a lot more strict! The food was a lot less interesting. On top of that: everyone stayed relatively the same size! His world had been reduced to the Mad T Party grounds and he found it constricting!

Chesshur laid in the dark and fumed for what seemed like forever! Time moved so slowly! The best parts of his day was when he was behind his drums. If this world had anything to offer it was the chance to be on stage. He loved playing to the audience. He could play his drums and help manipulate large crowds of people from where he sat. It was an amazing rush! He loved interacting with the crowds before and after the sets. The fans and regulars were great to play around with and chat up. He just needed his world to be more than that.

After some time his door opened and a beam of light fell across his face. He hissed. "Don't you knock?"

The overhead light in the room was flipped on and Absolem stood in the doorway. He was still in his stage clothes and he was shutting the door behind him. "We need to have a chat," he said solemnly.

"I'm not interested," Chesshur growled and buried his head into a soft furry purple pillow.

"We can either do it now, or in the morning. But talk we will, my friend."

There was the sound of something scraping against the floor. Chesshur looked up to find Absolem had dragged the chair from the vanity across the floor to stand upon it beside the loft bed. From this vantage point the Caterpillar could meet Chesshur eye-to-eye.

Chesshur frowned. "To what do I owe this intrusion?"

"I know you are restless," Absolem began quite bluntly. "I just feel the need to insist you be careful in the games you play with the band.

"No one has gotten hurt." Chesshur unfurled and stretched. His arms reached far above his head as his toes curled and hit the opposite end of the bed.

"Not yet," Absolem conceded. "I just worry where Alice is going to find herself if you insist on pushing Nivens and Tarrant."

Chesshur flopped as if all of his bones had melted on the spot. "Its just some innocent fun," he mumbled. "I didn't force Tarrant to kiss the girl."

"True." Absolem folded his arms on the wooden plank that created a protective barrier between the sleepee and an unpleasant fall. Chesshur didn't really need it, but it was too much effort to remove. "You never force anyone to do anything. You know how to persuade them to act, and that is what you did with Nivens." Absolem rested his chin on his arms.

Chesshur slowly rolled onto his back and refused to look at Absolem. "That was a shot in the dark. How was I supposed to know he was going to go all starry-eyed over Alice? He always acted more like a guilty enabler with her than a suitor."

"Fair point, but I won't sit back and watch you make the situation worse."

"Hey!" Chesshur glared at Absolem. "I've never acted with the intent to hurt my friends."

"It doesn't mean that it won't happen inadvertently. Your perception is not as wide here as you like to think it is."

Chesshur scratched his chin and contemplated Absolem's words. Perhaps the Caterpillar wasn't completely off in his assessment. He shot a glare in Absolem's direction. "Anyone ever tell you that you're a busybody?"

"That is a little like the pot calling the kettle black," Absolem countered.

He hit the nail a little too close to the head. Chesshur heaved a sigh. "I'll try to watch what I'm saying to whom," he conceded.

Absolem watched him with a careful eye. "Perhaps there is something else we can do to help with your boredom," he said after a moment.

Chesshur shrugged. "I'm open to suggestions."

"Give me some time to consider the possibilities."

"Sure. For tonight, though, I'd like to get some sleep."

"Fair enough." Absolem nodded solemnly and hopped off the chair. He left the chair where it stood and shut the light out as he left.

Chesshur laid in the dark for a long while and thought over Absolem's words. Was his games going too far? He didn't mean anyone harm. Especially not Alice. She'd done so much to help them. Still he worried he would not be able to help himself if the others played so perfectly into such humorous situations.


	16. Nivens' Uncertainty

Despite his recent anxieties Nivens slept through the night. Dreams of different scenarios played through his head, but quickly evaporated upon waking. There were dreams of Tarrant and Alice becoming the group's power couple and relegating him further to the fringe. There were dreams of him and Alice holding hands and laughing while surrounded by the smiling faces of their friends. There were even dreams of him and Tarrant discovering a hidden passion inside each other and forgetting Alice all together.

The last of the dreams dissipated as Nivens was awoken by a knocking at his door. A shiver went through him that he couldn't quite explain, but he shook it off. Not many people came visiting him. Last night's conversation with Absolem came back to him. It must be the Caterpillar, he thought, to pick up last night's talk.

Nivens sat up and yawned. "Come in," he called as his eyes began to scan the floor for his discarded shirt.

The door opened and the light clicked on. Nivens blinked against the sudden illumination. A quiet "ahem" drew his attention to the doorway where Alice stood. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a dark blue sundress with some strappy sandals.

"Alice!" Nivens exclaimed in surprise. "I wasn't expecting you."

She smiled shyly at him. "Yes. I can tell." She averted her gaze and a blush rose to her cheeks.

Nivens tilted his head to the side in confusion. Then he looked down to find why she was looking away. He was shirtless and the covers fell around his waist hiding his boxers from view. "Oh!" He yanked the sheet up over his torso for modesty's sake. "If you could give me a moment, Alice."

"Uh huh," she squeaked. She turned her back to him and shut the room's door.

She stood facing the door with her hands clasped behind her back as Nivens leapt out of bed to his dresser. He pulled out a pair of white jeans and a white t-shirt. Hastily he threw them on. "Okay. I'm decent," he announced.

Alice giggled and turned back around. "I'm sorry for barging in on you like this."

Nivens shook his head. "No need to apologize. Please, come in and have a seat."

She paused and looked around the sparse living space. The only places to sit were the vanity or the bed. "Maybe we can go for a walk?" she suggested.

"Right. Good plan." Nivens pulled his white high-top sneakers on before they left.

The pair walked through the hall and out to the Mad T Party grounds. Nivens offered his arm to Alice and she hooked her elbow around his as they strolled. As they made their way towards the park Nivens caught sight of Chesshur lurking past the stage. They made eye contact, but Nivens looked away first. Absolem's warnings not to rise to Chesshur's baiting came back to him and he refused to give the cat a chance to get to him. Alice and Nivens made their way out of the Mad T Party grounds and into the early morning crowds of the park. Nivens pulled his sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on to hide his pink eyes from unassuming onlookers.

"So," Nivens began after they'd been walking for a while. "Was there something on your mind? Or did you just want to drag me out of my room?"

Alice laughed. "Maybe a little of both."

They walked among the morning crowds blending into the sea of people. Nivens felt a little exposed, but no one paid them any attention. He glanced to Alice by his side, but she still wasn't saying much. "To be honest," Nivens said, "I thought you'd be seeing Tarrant this morning. Isn't that what you usually do?"

Alice nodded. "Yes, but I asked Thackery to look after him today. I really wanted a chance to talk to you again after our chat the other evening."

Nivens smiled to himself. "Did you find that helpful?"

"Oh yes! I most certainly did." She paused outside a café and looked at the tables under their brightly colored umbrellas. "I'm hungry. How about you?"

He nodded. "I could use a little something. Shall we?"

Nivens escorted Alice into the café. They each ordered some tea. Alice got a croissant while Nivens ordered some oatmeal. They took their breakfast out to eat in the shade and watch the people as they passed.

When they'd first come over from Underland Nivens thought everyone of Alice's world looked the same: a head, two arms, two legs. He was sorely disappointed that here he resembled them so much! Yet, as time passed he learned how to appreciate how diverse they all were. Each person had a varying height, shape, and a whole array of colors. From hair, to eyes, to skin tone. Each individual could present an endless amount of possibilities. Though he'd yet to meet anyone with pink eyes. He'd heard it occurred, but wasn't very common.

"Nivens," Alice said and pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, ahem. Yes, Alice?"

"I wanted to thank you for the other night. You really helped put my mind at ease." Alice took a sip of her tea and tore a piece from her pastry to nibble on.

"No worries. You honestly did the same for me." Nivens poured a bit of milk into his oatmeal to cool it down.

She smiled at him. "I'm glad I could help."

Nivens smiled and tasted his oatmeal. It was the perfect consistency: not too liquid-y, but not too thick either. "Was there something else bothering you?" he asked after he swallowed.

"Well," Alice began. "I did my best to keep in mind what you said. About how Tarrant means what he says and it isn't just a persona he is putting on."

"Yes, very good." Nivens took a sip of his tea.

"But then he said the most unexpected things!" Alice set the tiny piece of croissant back on the plate.

Nivens' brow furrowed as he scooped up another spoonful of oatmeal. "May I ask what?"

A flush lighted her cheeks and she glanced away. "He told me he loves me."

There was a loud clatter as Nivens' spoon fell into his bowl and the oatmeal stuck in the back of his throat. His eyes bugged out and he coughed as he tried to dislodge the offending oatmeal.

Alice gasped. "Nivens! Are you okay?" She slid her chair around the side of the table so she was next to him and patted his back.

The food cleared rather quickly, but Nivens still struggled with what to say. "Thank you, Alice," he gasped. "I'll be quite all right."

"Phew," Alice sighed. Rather than slide her chair back she pulled her plate and tea closer.

"So, he said he loves you?" Nivens prompted once they were both settled again. His mind was racing to put into perspective what this may mean between Alice and Tarrant. Or even Alice and himself.

"Yes. I remember you said that he probably means what he says…"

"But," Nivens cut her off, "he may not understand what it means to others."

Alice's eyes dropped to her plate and her hands folded in her lap. "Oh," she said. She cleared her throat. "I, uh, I hadn't considered that."

Nivens immediately felt bad for saying what he had. It was obvious that was not what Alice was hoping for when she came to him. "I mean… Well… Its obvious how we all feel for you, Alice. You know?" She nodded as he labored to figure out how to make her feel better. "Perhaps that is what Tarrant is picking up on?" As he spoke he began to convince and comfort himself. Maybe Absolem was right about Chesshur? The cat must have embellished the exchange between Alice and Tarrant to make it more interesting than it was in reality.

"Maybe," Alice said. "You're probably right." She offered him a smile, but he could tell she wasn't as reassured as he felt.

He took off his glasses and placed them beside his oatmeal. He reached over and gently took hold of one of Alice's hands. Enclosing her small hand in both of his he gazed into her blue eyes. "You helped us all Alice. And we've all come to care for you. Quite a lot. Perhaps… some of us more than others." He placed a chaste kiss on the back of her hand and gently set it back on the table.

Her blush crept across her cheeks as well as down her neck. "Thank you," she said a little breathlessly.

They finished their breakfast in polite conversation. Alice seemed lost in thought. Nivens was worried he'd maybe tried too hard to reassure Alice, but he didn't want to make her more uncomfortable by trying to clumsily fix it now. He'd even wondered if he'd gone to far to convince himself, but of what? In the moment everything had felt natural and true, but what message was he sending? He wasn't sure.

Afterwards Nivens escorted Alice back to the Mad T Party grounds. They walked arm in arm through the growing crowds, but didn't speak. They both seemed to have a lot to contemplate.


	17. Thackery's Morning Misadventures

Alice had interrupted Thackery's morning practice to ask him to keep an eye on Tarrant. Thackery had spent much of his day yesterday sulking in his room. Last night's show proved everything had worked out in the end with the band. Given that he expected Mally to sleep through the day he said yes. Alice didn't say what she was doing instead, but Thackery didn't care enough to ask. They all lived in such close proximity a little privacy was important.

Thackery put his bass back in its case and took it with him over to Tarrant's room. He wore a pair of brown corduroy's and a black t-shirt. He figured that was good enough for the excursion. The door was open just a crack, but the lights were out when Thackery got there. He nudged the door open wider and peered inside. It was dark, but he could make out the many tables, dressers, and nightstands around the room. Every surface was covered in top hates and hat making material.

Gentle snoring came from a futon mattress laid out in the middle of the floor. Thackery nudged the light on and Tarrant stirred. He wore a pair of stripped pajama pants and his sheets had been kicked off the foot of the bed. A top hat lay on its side above the pillows where the Hatter's red hair made a tangled mess. Tarrant rolled onto his back and scratched his bare chest.

"Morning, Tarrant," Thackery said softly.

Tarrant yawned and stretch his arms up over his head arching his back as he went. "Alice?" he mumbled?"

Thackery frowned and cleared his throat. He deepened his voice and said, "No. This is Thackery."

The Hatter's eye peeped open and looked at him. "Thack?"

"Yes," Thackery said as she shut the door behind him.

Tarrant rubbed his eyes. "Where's Alice?"

"She's doing her own thing. Alice suggested I come over and see if you wanted to hang out. I brought my bass if you wanted to practice."

"Alice didn't say why?" Tarrant frowned and sat up in bed.

Thackery shook his head and felt his ears flop back and forth. He stepped around the tables and sat down at the vanity. He placed the guitar on the floor propped up against the side of the desk. "Nope. Why don't you get up and we can go over some of the new songs?"

"Absolutely not," Tarrant announced as he stood up on the futon mattress. "Not before breakfast!"

"Okay," Thackery sighed. "Want to get dressed? We can go over to the lounge."

Tarrant strode over to the vanity where Thackery sat and picked up a hair brush. He handed the brush to Thackery and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him. Thackery looked at the brush, then Tarrant's head. With a shrug he started brushing the tangles out of Tarrant's hair. "Does Alice usually do this for you?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Then why…?"

Tarrant's shoulders went up and down in a shrug. "Why not? Alice does do it, sometimes."

"Okay." Thackery just kept brushing until the Hatter's hair was smooth.

He placed the brush back on the vanity and Tarrant jumped to his feet. Very quickly Tarrant was in a pair of slacks, a red t-shirt, and a dark green vest. This wasn't what the Hatter usually wore of his own accord and Thackery was surprised to find the had it at all.

"Is that what you're going to wear today?" Thackery asked as Hatter slipped his shoes on.

"Sure!" Tarrant stood back up and topped off the outfit with the nearest top hat. "Shall we?" Thackery stood and the two of them made their way to the lounge.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were sated at the table drinking some sort of breakfast shake when they walked in. It was unusual to see the twins around the grounds this early in the day. They'd found a place offsite and kept mostly to themselves.

"Good afternoon," Dee said.

"Its still morning," Dum said.

"It just might be," replied Dee.

"Because it certainly is," Dum said.

Dee took a drink of his shake. "But soon it won't be."

"But tomorrow it will be again." Dum smiled at Tarrant and Thackery.

"Dee. Dum." Thackery nodded to the brothers as he trailed behind Hatter. He noticed that the brothers were still in their T party clothes from the night before.

The Hatter seemed solely focused on the tea closet. He threw the doors open and took the small step inside. "I shall choose the tea if you, Thackery, will see to the food."

Thackery shrugged. "Okay."

He left Tarrant at the teas and shuffled over to the small kitchenette. He started the water boiling for the tea and went through the fridge for options. In the end he settled on toast and eggs. Tarrant finally settled on just plain old Breakfast Tea. With breakfast prepared and tea brewed Tarrant and Thackery sat down with Dee and Dum. Tarrant dipped his toast in his tea, took a bite, then started fishing the crumbs out with a tea spoon.

"So," Thackery said and looked at the brothers. "Fancy seeing you two here this early."

The brothers smirked at one another. "We did not make it home last night," Dee sing-songed.

"No we did not," Dum reiterated. "So we stayed here over night."

"That makes sense," Thackery said as he piled his eggs on top of his toast. "There are extra rooms."

Tarrant shook his head as he swallowed some of his eggs. "No big enough for four people," he pointed out.

Thackery blinked. "Four?"

The Tweedles laughed. "Observant, Hatter. Very observant," they said simultaneously.

Thackery glanced between Tarrant, who seemed to be observing his crumby tea, and the Tweedles. "I don't follow."

"Oh, Thackery," Tarrant tutted and the Tweedles laughed. "Are you saying that you have never, in say the month of March, taken a fancy to more than one lady?"

Thackery blushed. "I prefer not to talk about that right now."

Tarrant patted his shoulder. "It is quite all right. As it is, it would seem the twins each took a liking to one each, but they happened to all occupy the same space as activities of an indecent nature ensued." Thackery's jaw dropped and he looked to the twins.

"Well, we must be off," Dee said with a giant smile on his face.

"Off we must before we can be back," Dum concurred.

The two got up and left the lounge abandoning their glasses at the table. Thackery continued to stare after them, then looked at Hatter. "How did you know?"

"Know what?" Tarrant asked as he finished the last of his soggy toast. He got up to grab a clean cup. He then sat down in one of the abounded seats and poured himself a fresh cup of tea (sans crumbs).

"About what the Tweedles did last night."

"I didn't," Tarrant shifted. "I just guessed."

Thackery scooped up his egg-covered toast and ate it in silence while he watched Tarrant. He didn't really understand why Alice felt a need to watch over the man so closely, but he said he's stay with the Hatter. "How are things with you and Alice?" Thackery finally asked as he finished his breakfast.

"Why do you ask?" Tarrant froze.

"Well, she did ask me to come and spend the morning with you. I was just wondering if there was a reason."

"Any progress with Mallykun?" Tarrant deflected.

"What do you mean?"

Tarrant sat his now empty tea cup down and looked at Thackery. "Well, after you poisoned him with coffee I was wondering if you were going to attempt to kill him in some other fashion."

"I wasn't trying to kill him!" Thackery exclaimed.

Tarrant picked up his tea cup and smashed it on the floor. "My mistake."

Thackery frowned at the broken tea cup. "I was just worried about him. He seemed more distant and disconnected than usual."

"If you say so." Tarrant stood up and marched over to the couch against the wall. "I'll wait here while you clean up and consider what you've done." He flopped down on the couch and kicked his feet up on the arm of the chair. He settled his top hat down over his eyes and crossed his hands over his chest as if he were going back to sleep. Then he started to whistle.

Thackery stood up and cleared away the dirty dishes: his, Hatter's, and the Tweedles'. He then grabbed the dustpan and broom and cleaned up Tarrant's broken cup. He didn't understand what the Tarrant was getting at with the broken cup and his accusation that Thackery had tried to kill Mally. Wasn't it obvious he was only trying to help the Dormouse?


	18. Alice's Indecision

Alice walked back arm-in-arm with Nivens to the Mad T Party grounds. They sauntered in silence, but Alice felt hyper aware of his presence beside her. He felt solid and warm, but a little distant. To be fair, she considered that she probably felt a little distant as well. Their breakfast had been enlightening, but a little confusing.

One thing became clear to Alice. If she were going to get any answers about how Tarrant felt she was going to have to talk to him directly. Be clear and concise. Perhaps even blunt.

More blunt than Nivens had been with her. His words stirred a mixture of feelings in her, but she wasn't sure which ones he'd intended to target. His speech was a little to close to Tarrant's confession. However Nivens' kiss was much more tame. Maybe even just friendly.

They strolled back onto the Mad T Party grounds. The dancers from the Deck of Cards were rehearsing on their stage as Alice and Nivens' passed. She smiled at them and waved, but didn't stop to talk.

"Shall I escort you back to your room?" Nivens asked after they passed.

Alice was a little startled from the break in his silence. After a moment she nodded. "Yes, please."

Together they entered the backstage area and walked the halls. As they turned the corner of the hall that led to Alice's room they crossed paths with Thackery and Tarrant. The four band members and friends stopped in the intersection.

"Alice!" Tarrant said. "Thackery and I were just looking for you."

"If," Thackery interrupted, "by 'looking' you mean 'banging on her door and crying her name,' then yes - Tarrant was looking for Alice." He gave Alice a shy smile.

Alice smiled at them both. "Thank you, Thackery. And good morning to you, Tarrant. How has your day been so far?"

"Rather ordinary," Tarrant replied as he straightened his vest. Alice raised her eyebrows at how casually the Hatter was dressed today. Perhaps it was Thackery's influence? "Thackery awoke me at an obscenely absurd hour with the notion of getting in some music practice. Of course, he had to brush my hair first. Then our breakfasts had to be had, you know."

"Well, of course. Nivens and I just got back from having breakfast ourselves." She smiled up at Nivens. He was wearing his glasses again so she couldn't see where he was looking, but she could see his cheeks blush.

"Ahem, yes," Nivens said and patted her hand that rested on the crook of his arm.

"I see," Tarrant said through clenched teeth. His glare was fixed most pointedly at Nivens.

Thackery quickly stepped in. He touched Tarrant's shoulder and said, "How about some of that practice now?" Tarrant didn't acknowledge him at all. "Alice," Thackery added. "You're welcome to join us."

She shot Tarrant a glare herself. She didn't like the way he was treating poor Nivens. "Maybe later. Come on, Nivens." She began marching back to her room. She practically had to drag Nivens with her. As they walked down the hall she refused to turn back and look at Tarrant.

Behind her she could hear Thackery attempting to coax Tarrant back to his own room. "She said 'maybe later.' Come on."

Alice felt a little bad asking Thackery to look after Tarrant then leaving them like this. She still needed to talk to the Mad Hatter as it was. Just - not with an audience.

Nivens finally started walking beside her rather than being dragged along. His face tilted toward her warily. "Are you okay?"

"Fine!" Immediately she regretted snapping at Nivens. He wasn't the source of her frustration. Not entirely, anyway. Nivens walked stiffly beside her in silence for the short distance back to her room. "I'm sorry," Alice said as they stopped outside her door. She looked up at Nivens. "That wasn't fair of me to snap at you. Just like its not fair for Tarrant to be so rude to you."

Nivens smiled down at her. "Its quite all right, Alice." He held his arms open to her and gave her the option of whether or not she wanted to hug him.

"You're too forgiving," Alice chided playfully as she stepped into his hug and wrapped her arms around his waist.

His arms folded over her shoulders and back as he rested his chin on the top of her head. "Not always, my dear. But for you I can find a little more patience." Nivens kissed the top of her head. "Just as you always do for Tarrant."

Alice took a deep breath and inhaled Nivens' scent. He smelled fresh and clean like soap and laundry detergent with just a hint of some flowery field somewhere. "Thank you," she said into his chest before stepping back to smile up at him.

He returned her smile. "You'll know the right thing to do. You usually do eventually. Good afternoon, Alice."

"See you later, Nivens."

He turned and began the short trek back towards his own quarters. Alice watched him retreat down the hall before going into her own room. She was tempted to sit alone and stew, but it wouldn't help anyone. Besides: Thackery had done her a favor and she couldn't return it by abandoning him with Tarrant. Still she wasn't going to run straight there. Instead she pulled a book out from a drawer in her vanity and laid down to read a chapter or two.

When Alice felt enough time had passed she rolled off the bed, put the book back in the vanity, and smoothed her ponytail in the vanity mirror. Then she set off to join Tarrant and Thackery for some "practice." She wasn't sure how much practice there would be, but maybe she could let Thackery loose so she could talk to Tarrant before tonight's show.

Quickly she found herself outside Tarrant's door. As usual, it was cracked open. Tarrant's voice came out clear over a recording of a new song on the set list. She peered in to see Thackery sitting at the vanity plucking along with the bass line. Tarrant's back was currently to her as he hopped on his futon mattress. She pushed the door open further and leaned in the doorway to watch them. Tarrant leapt as the song ended and landed on top of one of his desks scattering hats and hat making supplies everywhere. He struck a pose and Alice applauded.

"That was pretty amazing," she said.

Tarrant took off his hat and flourished it as he bowed from atop the desk. Thackery hit stop on the boom box. "Hey Alice!"

"Hi, Thackery. Thanks again for taking care of things this morning."

He shrugged as he leaned forward to put his guitar back in the case. "No problem. Do you need me to stick around a little longer?"

"No. I've got it from here."

Tarrant leapt down off the desk and started replacing the fallen objects. Thackery picked up his case and skirted Tarrant's mess to leave. Alice gave him a hug as he passed and a quick peck on the check. He tugged shyly on his ear before he ducked out of the room and left her alone with Tarrant. Alice took the opportunity to shut the Hatter's door. Then she started helping Tarrant put his desk back in order.

"Thank you, Alice," Tarrant said as they finished.

"It was nothing," she grinned. Alice sat down on the chair at the vanity Thackery had left open. "How are you feeling today, Tarrant?"

"This entire day has started off wrong," he announced and knelt on his mattress. He pulled one of his pillows into his lap.

Alice frowned. "It sounded like you had a good day so far. You and Thackery did a lot already. Why do you say it started wrong?"

"Because it wasn't you who woke me up this morning," he said. His gaze was locked on the pillow he kneaded in his hands. Alice was glad because she felt warmth flood her cheeks.

"I'm here now," she said quietly.

He glanced up at her from beneath the brim of his hat. "You're so far away," he complained.

She laughed softly to hide the fact that her heat was doing flip flops. "Is this better?" She slid the chair across the space so she sat with her feet against the side of the mattress.

"Almost," Tarrant said. He reached out and grabbed her hands. Before she could react he pulled her out of the chair and onto the mattress with him. She let out a squeal of surprise, but he controlled her fall so that they landed softly on the mattress. She was pressed to his chest and he quickly wrapped his arms around her. "This is much better."

Alice laid her head against his chest and heard his heart beating steadily beneath her ear. She slid her arms around his sides so she could press herself up from against the mattress. She looked down at him. "That was sneaky," she scolded him.

"So was sending Thackery to get me this morning so you could go out with Nivens," he responded. His hands trailed up and down her back gently.

"Nivens and I had things to discuss." She elbowed his arms away so she could slide off from atop him. She lay on the mattress on her side facing him. He rotated so he could face her in return. Alice nudged the pillows off the top of the mattress so she wasn't placing her shoes on them.

"Things?" he prompted her.

She shook her head. "Yes. Things. Things that aren't any of your business."

He pouted at her before he reached out and brushed his fingers down her bare arm. Her skin tingled at his touch. "Anything you want to talk to me about?"

"What do you want from me Tarrant?" she asked before she could stop herself. She surprised herself with the question, but it was at the heart of all her concerns regarding him.

He blinked at her and his hand pulled back as if her skin had scorched him. "Want from you? Only for you to be happy."

"Then, will you give me the time to figure out what that might be?"

Tarrant's eyes searched her face. She wasn't sure what he was looking for, but finally he nodded. "As much as you need."

"Thank you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you for the show tonight. Okay?"

He nodded. She rolled onto her knees off the side of the mattress and got up. She waved down at him before she left the room, making sure the door was open just a little as she walked away. Nothing was certain or decided, but at least she didn't feel pressured to make any decisions yet. She liked things the way they were, but she also knew they couldn't stay the same forever. Tarrant had made the first move. Maybe even Nivens, too. At least now she had the time to figure out what her move would be.


	19. Tarrant's Company

Tarrant laid on his back in the middle of his futon mattress for a long while after Alice left. The smell of her skin still lingered on his fingertips. His hands itched to stay busy and he glanced over at one of his desks. He could make a new hat, but he feared losing her scent so quickly.

He'd never imagined holding Alice the way he had, but now that was all he could think about: pulling her into his arms and basking in her warmth. They'd rarely been apart since her return to Underland, but now he feared he'd lose her in a way that he'd never had her. Was that possible? To lose a thing you never actually possessed?

"Giving up so soon?" came a voice from outside his head. He twisted around to find Chesshur standing in his doorway.

"Who said I was giving up?" Tarrant asked. He rolled off the mattress and reached beneath the nearest desk. From the floor he retrieved two tea cups. One cup was empty and the other was half full with cold tea.

"You, dear Hatter, are sporting the look of a man who has lost hope." Chesshur sauntered in and made himself at home on Tarrant's mattress by stretching out across the width of the bed.

"That is hardly the case." Tarrant turned up his nose at the Cheshire Cat. "Clean cup!" he announced as he poured the tea from one cup into the empty cup. Without hesitation he took a sip, then spat it out just as quickly. "Ew! Clean tea!" He dropped the now empty tea cup and it bounced off his lap. He used his fingernails to scrape his tongue and remove the offending taste.

Tarrant glanced over and found Chesshur watching him. He rose his eyebrows and watched the Cat in return. Chesshur seemed to be struggling with something. Finally he sighed and rolled so his back was to Tarrant. The Hatter assumed the Cheshire Cat was just going to doze off and ignore him.

As he was sliding the two tea cups back under the desk Chesshur spoke. "You shouldn't fret about Alice."

Tarrant shot him a wary glance. The cat was still facing away from him, but Tarrant was sure the voice had come from him. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Without turning around Chesshur said, "Alice will come around. Its painfully obvious how much she cares for you above the others.

The Hatter scoffed. "She cares for us all."

Finally Chesshur turned to meet Tarrant's eyes. "Yes, but you first and foremost. Why do you think she spends so much time taking care of you? She's obviously worried about Mallymkun's sleeping and Nivens' insomnia, but you always come first."

Tarrant was left speechless. Chesshur used this opportunity to curl up and in a matter of moments was lightly dozing. Hatter watched Chesshur for a while longer. Unconsciously, he went to go tug at his floppy bowtie, but it wasn't around his neck. He looked down to see he'd dressed himself differently that morning: just a pair of slacks, a red t-shirt, and a dark green vest. "Oh my!" he cried. "People saw me in such a state of undress!"

He jumped to his feet and hurried to his wardrobe. Tarrant pulled out his shirt, his bowtie, and his overcoat and at least put those on. There wasn't any consideration that he was going to have to change again for the show that evening. Once he was dressed "properly" he felt more collected. More himself.

With a new found focus he sat down at one of the desks that lined his room and picked up a bolt of cloth. Hat-making sounded like the very thing he needed to do. He went straight to work as Chesshur continued to sleep soundly curled up on his futon. Somehow the Cat had managed to migrate to the center of Hatter's futon, but that wasn't a concern at the moment. Very quickly the act of hat construction consumed Tarrant's focus and all of his worries and fears melted away. At least for the time being.


	20. Mallymkun's Waking

Slowly Mallymkun's consciousness rose unbidden through his many layers of sleep. There was no knocking at the door or gentle hand shaking his shoulder. There wasn't even the steady beat of music playing. Yet, Mallymkun awoke all the same. For the first time since the band arrived from Underland Mallymkun woke up on his own. No, more than that. He woke up early.

With a yawn and a stretch his eyes opened to peer into the darkened room. He was alone. At the very least he was expecting Thackery to be there attempting to rouse him. There wasn't even a stage hand popping in to say "show time." What time was it? He glanced around and couldn't find a clock.

He shrugged his sheets off and sat up. He waited for the momentary head rush to pass. He felt awake and alert. No remnants of sleep remained. His heart didn't pound and energy didn't race through his veins like when he was on stage, but he was there and present.

Last night's costume had already been picked up by someone to be cleaned, but his boots still sat in the middle of the floor. Mally got up and wandered over to the dresser. Without much thought he pulled out a pair of black jeans, a red tank top, and a clean pair of socks. Over everything he threw on a black bowling shirt.

Once he was dressed with his boots laced up he poked his head out into the hallway. There was no one in sight. For a moment the fear that he was alone and that everyone had left gripped him. He tried to shake it off. Tarrant and Thackery surely wouldn't go back to Underland without him. Then where was everyone?

Mallymkun wandered out into the hall. He knew he could get to the stage from where he was, or even the lounge. He just didn't know which rooms belonged to the other cast members. It dawned upon him that he hadn't been in any one else's room the entire time they were here. He really hadn't been anywhere. How long had they been here? His mind was starting to ask all these questions and he was alarmed he didn't know the answers to them.

He glanced at his own door as it swung shut behind him. There was a piece of paper taped there with his name in plain print: "Mallymkun." With this in mind he started to walk the halls. He came across a door with Alice's name, but her paper was colored and decorated. He paused for a moment a considered knocking, but moved on. He knew who he really wanted to see right now. There was only two people who could calm and reassure him right now, and he needed to find at least one of them.

He continued on and finally met someone in the hallway. It was one of the stagehands. A face he recognized because this man had come in on more than one occasion to help get him up in time for the show, but the man's name escaped Mally in the moment. He had a dark Mohawk and big green eyes, which were staring at Mally in amazement.

"Mallymkun?" the stagehand asked.

"Yeah, hi.. Um.." Mally said, trying to recall the stage hand's name.

"It's Julio, sir. Are you feeling okay?"

Mally nodded. "I'm fine. Just a little lost. Do you know where Thackery is? Or Tarrant?"

Julio blinked at him as if still amazed to see him. "I saw them together earlier this morning. They had breakfast in the lounge then retired to one of their rooms."

"Okay." Mally glanced up and down the hall. "Can you point me in that direction?"

"Sure." Julio pointed down the hall and gave him some very simple directions - left, right, second door on the right past the bathrooms. Mallymkun nodded and thanked him before taking off down the hall.

He followed the directions and passed several doors in almost identical looking white hallways. Finally he came across the bathrooms Julio had mentioned. Quickly he began scanning the doors looking for either Tarrant or Thackery's names.

Just where Julio said it would be Mallymkun found the door with "Thackery Earwicket" posted outside. Even his sign was colorfully decorated as well as having pictures of him on stage pasted on the door around the sign. The sound of Thackery's amplified bass resonated from inside the room. Tentatively Mallymkun knocked on the door.

"I'm here!" came Thackery's voice from inside.

Mallymkun pushed the door open to find Thackery sitting on his bed. The case for his bass was open beside him and he was putting the instrument away with his back towards the door. "I didn't mean to interrupt," Mally said.

Thackery turned around with a surprised "o" on his face. "Mally? What are you doing up so early?"He blinked at the March Hare. "Early? What time is it?"

"Just after noon! Are you okay?" Thackery shut his bass case and rushed over to Mally. He pressed a hand to Mally's forehead while grabbing the Dormouse's wrist as if checking for a pulse.

Mally laughed and tried to shrug Thackery off. "I'm fine. I just woke up and there wasn't anyone around. I thought for a second that you guys had all gone back to Underland without me."

"We'd never do that!" Thackery threw his arms around Mally. "I'd carry you back to Underland if I had to, but we'd never leave you here alone."

Mally hugged Thackery back and smiled - relief coursing through him. "Thank you."

Thackery stepped back. "Well, since you're up what do you want to do?"

"Do?" Mallymkun blinked at Thackery.

"Yeah. We have plenty of time before we have to get ready for the show. You're up. What do you want to do?"

The Dormouse thought about it for a moment and quickly realized what he really wanted to do more than anything else. "Why don't we go for a walk and explore? I don't think I've left the Mad T Party grounds the entire time I've been here."

Thackery smiled and nodded. "That's a brilliant idea. I don't think you have, either. Come on." He grabbed Mally's hand and pulled him back out into the hallways.

"Where are we going?" Mally asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Not really."

Smiling the two friends left the backstage area, walked through the Mad T Party grounds, and made their way into the park. This late in the day there were a fair amount of other people walking through. More than a few stopped and pointed. Obviously Mally and Thackery were recognizable figures by this point by some of the crowds. More than once they were asked to stop and take pictures with some folks. Neither of them had anywhere to be so they obliged every opportunity that came up.

"Thanks!" said the last girl, Sarah, they'd posed with for a picture. They didn't understand why she wanted to stand between them as Mally made a kissy face and Thackery pushed him away, but they went along with it anyway. It was a blast.

Sarah blew a pink bubble from her mouth as she shook hands with Thackery one last time. "Wow," Thackery said. "How did you do that?"

Mallymkun leaned in closer. "That doesn't look like smoke."

Sarah inhaled and the bubble shrank back down. She tucked the pink stuff back into her mouth. "Its just bubblegum, guys." She laughed. "Man, you're totally into your characters. I'm guessing you don't have bubblegum in Underland."

"Nope," Mally said. He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

"Did you want some?" Sarah asked and pulled a pink package out of her pocket.

Thackery hopped up and down. "I do! I do! Please?"

Sarah laughed and pulled a thin rectangle out of the pink box. She handed it to Thackery who took it like the most valuable and prized possession. He gazed at the little white and pink rectangle in his hand. She watched him for a second and quirked an eyebrow. "Do you know what to do with it?"

"No," Thackery said and smiled at her sheepishly.

Sarah cooed then took the rectangle back. "First, you unwrap it." She pulled what was pink and white wrapper off the rectangle and presented just a pink strip. "Then you put this in your mouth and chew. Very important: Do not swallow it!"

"This should be interesting," Mally commented under his breath. He smiled and watched the two of them.

Thackery watched Sarah carefully as he placed the gum inside his mouth. He chewed a few times and nodded as he did so. "It tastes very sweet."

Sarah shrugged. "The flavor doesn't last forever. Now, once the gum is soft and in a ball, you can blow bubbles with it."

"How?" Thackery asked with a mouthful of gum.

Sarah went through a series of steps that Mally only half followed. Something about pushing the gum against the inside of your lips, then pursing your lips together like you're going to whistle, then blow. It was enough to make him go cross-eyed, but Thackery was nodding like he understood. His jaw worked the gum around and finally he puckered up and attempted to blow a bubble. A little pink bubble formed and very quickly popped. The gooey stuff covered Thackery's lips and he laughed in delight. He worked his tongue around to collect the gum back into his mouth.

"Good job!" Sarah laughed and clapped. "Just loosen your lips a little more. Maybe blow a little slower. With practice, you'll get it in no time!"

"Thank you!" Thackery said.

"Yes, thanks," Mally added with a laugh. "This will provide endless entertainment for myself."

The boys thanked Sarah again and continued walking around the park. All the while Thackery practiced blowing bubbles. Finally Thackery managed to blow a bubble bigger than a jawbreaker. He started humming and waving his arms around to get Mally's attention.

Mallymkun turned and applauded. "Great job!" he cheered.

In his excitement Thackery swung his head around and his ear hit the bubble. The bubble popped and created a sticky adhesive between Thackery's lips and his ear. Mally could see one violet eye grow big as the green one was currently hidden behind his ear.

Mallymkun laughed aloud before he could stop himself. Poor Thackery just looked so distraught! Quickly he cleared his throat and asked: "Are you okay?"

Thackery let out a low moan which was almost a whine. "I think my hear is stuck to my face." He reached up and attempted to peel his ear from his lips and cheek. The pink bubble gum clung in stretch strings before snapping. Some of the gum ended up back in his face while some of it stuck to the fur of his ear.

"This is getting kind of messy," Mally pointed out. "Lets go find a washroom."

They adjourned to the nearest public bathroom as Thackery did his best to keep his ear away from his hair. Mally held open the washroom door for Thackery to walk through. Together they stood in front of a mirror and looked at Thack's reflection.

Carefully, Thackery began peeling the gum off his face. Mally helped hold his hair back so it wouldn't get stuck in the sticky mess. On the walk to the washroom the pink gum had gotten a little harder so the pieces picked off instead of stretched. Thackery used his nails to peel the little pink pieces off his face and facial hair.

"Don't you have a hair tie?" Mally asked.

"Sorry, I forgot one today," Thackery grumbled.

Once his face was clear of the gummy mess Thackery used a damp paper towel to wipe off his face. Next came picking the gum out of the fur on his ear. Mally helped hold the ear out of the way as he pulled the rest of Thackery's hair back. His fingers brushed March Hare's neck as he did so and Thackery shivered beneath the touch. Mally smirked, but didn't say anything.

Thackery did his best to pull his ear close to his face so he could spot the gum and pick it out. Dormouse could see from the reflection it was causing the March Hare to go a little cross-eyed. After a few minutes of frustration and poor progress, Mally finally asked; "Do you want to switch?"

March Hare pouted and nodded. "You sure? This is kind of gross."

"Yeah. Wash your hands and take your hair," Mally reasoned.

Thackery washed his hands then took control of holding his hair out of the way. Mally stepped around and took hold of Thack's ear, being sure to hold it away from the already cleaned face. Gently he cupped the ear in one hand so he could protect Thackery from the mess he'd made. The pink of his ear felt fragile and warm beneath his fingertips. With his other hand Mally combed through Thackery's fur in search of the little sticky bits.

Thackery stifled a giggle and a shudder. Mally spotted the March Hare's cheeks flush. "Are you okay?" Mally asked without stopping.

"That tickles," was all Thackery said. Mally grinned to himself and kept attempting to pick out the pieces of gum. This was good information to have as possible ammunition. "I see you grinning," Thackery pointed out.

"You have to admit: this is kind of humorous."

Thackery went back to pouting. "I hardly think so." Mallymkun shrugged and kept up his task.

Guys and fathers with their sons came and went from the public restroom, but no one said anything. They got a few curious glances. It probably wasn't every day they saw a grown man pulling gum out of another grown man's furry/floppy ears.

One little boy stood and watched while his father used the facilities. "My sister put gum in my hair once," the little boy commented.

"Oh, yeah?" Mally shot a glance at the boy. "How'd your folks get it out?"

"Cut it out," the boy said.

Thackery whimpered.

"Not an option," Mally said, mostly to reassure Thackery. The little boy shrugged.

By then the boy's father emerged. He glanced over as he washed his hands in a nearby sink. "You could put the ears in the freezer for a while," the man said without preamble. "When the gum freezes it is easier to pull out." Thackery shot Mally a panicked look in the mirror.

"Thanks," Mally said. When the boy and his father left he continued: "Don't worry. We're not going to freeze your ear. He probably didn't even realize its attached."

Mallymkun worked until his fingers cramped. He'd gotten most of the gum out. He could still feel little sticky spots when he ran his fingers over the fur, but it was the bet he was going to be able to do for the time being. He finally released the ear and washed his hands at the sink.

"We'd better get back so you can shower before tonight's show. Hopefully the remnants will work their way out." Mally dried his hands with a paper towel.

Thackery still held his hair back and to the side. He smiled sheepishly at Mally. "Thank you."

Dormouse shrugged. "It's the least I can do. Come on." He smiled and patted Thackery on the back.

The duo walked directly back to the Mad T Party grounds. They managed to keep their heads down all the way without getting stopped. After a quick stop at Thackery's room for a towel and a change of clothes Mally walked him to the communal bathrooms.

"Need anymore help?" Mally asked with an impish grin.

Thackery's cheeks burned red. "No, I've got it from here." He disappeared into the bathrooms, which left Mally alone in the hallway.

Mally hadn't realized he could get this kind of reaction out of Thackery. Nor had he realized how much he enjoyed it. With a smirk he turned to head back to his room.

In the hall he passed Absolem, who blinked at him in surprise. "Mallymkun? What are you doing up so early?"

"Not sure," Mally admitted. "But I've got to say: I kind of like it." With a smile and a wave Mallymkun returned to his room, but not to sleep.


	21. Absolem's Invitation

After seeing Mally in the halls wide awake and walking around Absolem kept a close eye on him that night. He didn't want to see the Dormouse pass out on stage again. Fortunately his fears were unfounded. The night went smoothly and Mally didn't show any signs of fatigue until the usual post-show tea time.

While Mallymkun's unusual early waking was curious, Absolem already had other plans to put into motion today. And though he was curious to see if the Dormouse would rise early on his own, there was another friend who needed his attention more. So rather than waking and lounging around until Chesshur or someone else wandered in Absolem got dressed and set out on a mission.

He walked directly to his destination and knocked on the door. Absolem had judged that it was early enough to avoid the other band members, but not so early to be indecent in expecting his target to be awake. After a few moments the door cracked open and a park of pink eyes peered out at him. "Absolem?"

"Good morning, Nivens," Absolem greeted him with a nod of his head. "How are you doing this morning?"

"Cautious," Nivens said. "Alice caught me by surprise yesterday morning. How can I help you today?"

"I've come to invite you back to my room for a relaxing morning of male bonding."Nivens opened the door a little wider and looked at Absolem curiously. The White Rabbit appeared to be only in his sweats. "Male bonding, huh? Is that code for something?"

Absolem shook his head. "Its code for: you need to relax and get some perspective. Allow me to offer some outside observations."

Nivens seemed to consider Caterpillar's offer, then finally nodded. "Sure. Is this a casual occasion?"

"Yes. Just grab a shirt and some shoes. We'll to be going back to my quarters." Absolem put his hands in his pockets and waited at the door as Nivens complied.

When Nivens was decent the two strolled back to Absolem's room in companionable silence. Back at the room Absolem offered Nivens a seat in the circle of cushions that took up the center of his living space. As Nivens attempted to arrange himself comfortably on a pile of cushions Absolem went over to a small end table and withdrew a small plastic bag. He then settled onto his usual cushion seat and pulled the hookah over.

Nivens eyed the bag with no attempt to disguise his suspicion. "What is that?"

Absolem pinched some of the brightly colored dried plant out of the bag and started packing it into the bowl of the hookah. "Its from home," he said. "I've found the tobacco of this world does little to clear the mind and relax the body like anything in Underland. I'm going to ask you to partake with me this morning. Only a little if you like, but if we do it now you'll be fine before tonight's show. So, will you?"

Nivens furrowed his brow. "I don't know."

"Do you trust me?" Absolem finished and looked directly at Nivens. Slowly the White Rabbit nodded.

Caterpillar placed the hookah back in the center of the ring of pillows. Pulling a lighter he took the mouth piece and lit the bowl. He took a few puffs before passing the hose over to Nivens.

With a bit of trepidation Nivens accepted. He gazed at the mouth piece in his hand before taking an experimental puff. Right away his face turned a pale shade of green. Absolem wasn't concerned. He knew it would pass.

Casually Absolem blew out perfect smoke circles - each smaller than the previous and passing through the center of the one before. He felt pleased with himself. It had been incredibly hard to not pull out his Underland stash, but this was the perfect occasion for doing so. Nivens needed to clear his mind.

Nivens gasped for breath as he coughed all the smoke out. "I don't think I'm very good at this," he mumbled.

"Take another pull," Absolem instructed. "It'll be easier this time. Then pass it back." Nivens inhaled again and passed the mouth piece back. "Now," continued Absolem," do your recitation. Let's see if it is taking."

Nivens frowned. "How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail, and pour the waters of the Nile on every golden scale," Nivens began. At first the smoke just floated out his mouth, but by the end a smoky crocodile was lingering in the air before his pink eyes.

Meanwhile Absolem was puffing on the hookah. He nodded his approval. "How cheerfully he seems to grin, how neatly spreads his claws, And welcomes little fishes in with gently smiling jaws." A school of smoke-blown fish swam up to Nivens' crocodile and disappeared between its giant teeth. Absolem smiled. "Now we're ready to get down to business." The last word formed a little fluttering smoke bee which buzzed over to Nivens before disappearing in a puff.

Nivens arched an eyebrow. "I thought this was relaxing male bonding time."

"Yes," Absolem replied. "Just that someone like you needs to work at relaxing."

The White Rabbit huffed. "So how does this work?"

"Allow me to guide the conversation." Absolem took a deep pull from the hookah and passed the mouth piece back to Nivens. "What's on your mind?" Absolem breathed. The smoke image of a brain formed and floated away.

"Nothing," Nivens replied. The smoke blew from his lips to form a giant empty ring, then a second ring blew through it. Yet, before the rings disappeared they both shifted into two hearts.

Absolem lifted a curious eyebrow. Nivens' smoke rings betrayed him. "Oh, really?" A question mark floated between the two men. "Not even Alice?" Absolem blew his own smoky heart.

Nivens reached out and swiped at the smoky symbol effectively destroying the image. "I'm not sure what you're implying." No smoke images formed.

Absolem motioned to take another pull of the hookah. As Nivens did, Absolem asked: "Why so defensive?"

"Am not," Nivens said. The letters 'L,' 'I,' and 'E' formed in the smoke. "Oh! I see why you wanted to do this!" Plumes of smoke shot out and scattered like little explosions.

"To help you," Absolem cajoled. A little red cross symbol emerged and even Absolem wandered at that. This world was having an effect on how his thoughts formed.

Nivens pouted and crossed his arms. "Help, indeed."

Absolem took another pull of the hookah and passed it back to Nivens. As Nivens reluctantly took another hit off the hookah Absolem spoke. "You're still all tangled up." Vines of smoke writhed and twisted together into knots. "You're letting other confuse you and are not focusing on how you truly feel."

"And you presume to know how I feel?" Nivens challenged.

"No. I'm asking you to know how you feel. I'm just trying to help."

Nivens sighed heavily. The smoke blew from his mouth like a string of ellipses.

Absolem sat in silence for a long while to allow Nivens to sort his thoughts in peace. "I care for Alice," Nivens finally said.

Absolem nodded. "Obviously, but are you allowing your feelings to be informed by others?" A smoky prowling cat pursued by a floating top hat emerged in the smoke Absolem exhaled as he spoke. Nivens watched the smoky images and nodded sadly. "Then do something about it," Absolem prompted.

After a moment's pause Nivens leaned into the smoky picture and exhaled his own smoke. The lines of smoke became claws swiping through the cat and hat dispersing their images to nothing but fog.

Absolem nodded in approval. "Now, tell me how you feel about Alice."

"She is wonderful," began Nivens. "Dear and special to us all. I want to protect her, but…" his voice trailed off.

"But?"

"But she doesn't need me to protect her," Nivens finally admitted. He sank back into the cushions and relaxed into their give. All of the tension flooded from his body. For the first time in all the time Absolem had known the White Rabbit he seemed relaxed. "Telling her I love her isn't a lie, but doing it to keep her from Tarrant is disingenuous. I'm just doing it to protect her feelings."

Absolem nodded. "Valiant, but misguided." He took the hookah hose back from Nivens. The White Rabbit had reached his epiphany. It was time to cut him off.

"Yeah," Nivens agreed. He laid his head back on the cushions and shut his eyes. "I allowed Chesshur to pull my strings."

"That is something to be wary of," Absolem conceded. "The Cheshire Cat can't play his usual games here. We must all watch ourselves around him."

Nivens responded by snoring lightly. Absolem grinned and shook his head. He smoked in peace as Nivens slept off his emotional revelation for the afternoon. However, Nivens' confused feelings were the easiest thing to fix. What do about Chesshur's boredom? That was the real challenge.

*"How doth the little crocodile" rhyme from Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland."


	22. Chesshur's Tea Cup Battle

Chesshur was sure he'd just found the best napping space in all of the Mad T Party grounds. He'd cat-napped in his own room. In the rooms of Tarrant, Thackery, Absolem, and Mallymkun. In the lounge on the communal couch. On the trampoline the Hottest Deck in Town used to practice their tricks. All of these places were fine, but most of them led to someone finding him and telling him to move. "Hey, that's my bed" or "we need that to practice" inevitably interrupted his rest. Even in his own room someone would come in and say "you're still asleep?" No, he was not "still" asleep. He was awake and is sleeping again.

But this new spot was perfect. He could overhear conversations if he wanted to, but was also completely out of sight. No one would find him here. Today he'd discovered the best spot to curl up and sleep was in the tea cup/DJ booth on stage. There was plenty of space and he was completely hidden from view. Besides, he was sure it'd irk Nivens to some degree - which made the spot even more ideal. Besides, it smelled really nice for some reason.

He'd been curled up and dozing for at least an hour when the unthinkable happened: he was discovered. "Hey!" came a female shriek. "What are you doing?"

Chesshur peeled one eye open and was surprised to find Dinah standing at the entry to the tea cup. Her hazel eyes were narrowed and glaring at him with her arms crossed over her chest. One hip was jutted out in the classic female "pissed off" stance.

He hadn't thought that Dinah was DJ-ing that evening. In fact, he was positive she wasn't. She wasn't wearing her usual "white rabbit" DJ outfit, but instead was in a pair of black yoga pants and a brown wool-knit sweater. He eyed her for a moment longer trying to guess why she was there, but came to the conclusion it didn't matter. "Sleeping," he finally said and shut his eye.

"I can see that," she snapped. "Why are you sleeping here?"

"Why not?" Chesshur didn't even look at her as they spoke. She'd get the hint and go away if he ignored her long enough. At least that's what he hoped.

"Be. . . Be. . .Because," she sputtered. "This is a DJ booth."

"So?" he yawned. If he could have rolled over he would have, but the booth prohibited that much movement.

"So?! So no one told you that you could sleep here!" She was obviously getting more flustered each passing second. Her voice kept rising in pitch.

A grin crossed Chesshur's lips. "And?"

"And that's my spot!" Dinah finally yelled. She kicked him in the knee. "Get out! Find your own place to sleep!"

"Ow!" Chesshur yelped. He sat up in surprise and hit his head on the little ledge the DJs used to sit their laptops. "Ow," he moaned again and rubbed his head. "No. I was here first!"

"Hardly," she huffed. "I've been sleeping here every afternoon for months. The spot is mine."

Chesshur laid back down. "I didn't see your name on it."

"How childish! Now, get out!"

"Childish, huh? Well, I'd like to see you try to get me out."

Dinah yowled in frustration. "You are the most insufferable cat I've ever met!"

He smiled up at her. "Why, thank you."

"That was not a compliment!" She reached down and grabbed his leg by the ankle with both hands. Meekly she tried to tug him out of the booth, but he was just too bulky for her. Besides, he went limp so that he was nothing but dead weight. She cried out again in frustration. "Please?! I just want to get my nap in before Nivens comes out."

He arched an eyebrow. "He knows you sleep in here?"

"No! Hence the wanting to sleep now."

Chesshur studied her for a moment. "I've got an idea," he said after a long pause. "Come in and shut the door behind you."

Dinah shot him a dirty look. "Not until you get out."

He sighed. "Please? The sooner you do this, the sooner we can both be sleeping if I'm right."

"Fine," she grumbled. She stood in the center of the booth and shut the door behind her. As she did as he asked Chesshur pressed his back against the curve of the cup's wall. "Now what?" she asked.

"Now, sit down with your back to me," he instructed.

The irritation fled her face to be replaced with suspicion. He patted the floor at her feet in an inviting manner. "Okay," she said slowly. She turned and sat on her behind so her back was to him.

Chesshur then reached out and wrapped one arm around her shoulders from behind. He proceeded to pull her back so his chest was against her back. "Now, lay on your side," he said as he guided her down. They were now both curled up in the tea cup with him around her.

He took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of her hair. She was right - she'd been sleeping here regularly. The entire tea cup smelled like her, but he hadn't been able to realize it until now. "Comfortable?" he asked.

"Surprisingly: yes." She relaxed against him, using his other arm as a pillow.

He buried his face in the warmth of her soft chestnut hair. "I was right," he murmured against her neck.

He felt her take a deep breath before she asked: "right about what?"

"This is the best place for napping."

Dinah huffed. "Shut up and go to sleep," she mumbled. Yet, despite her protestations she snuggled in closer to Chesshur. He slid one hand over her side and held her close as they both fell off to sleep.


	23. Thackery's Observation

Thackery awoke at his normal time. He dressed, grabbed a book, and went straight over to Mallymkun's room. He didn't bring his wake up mix or anything. His intent was to wait and see if/when Mally would wake up early. Maybe he could figure out what was causing the sleeping or instigating the waking.

Quietly he peered into Mally's room. The Dormouse was curled up in the center of his bed among a nest of sheets and pillows. Silently Thackery crept in and sat at the vanity table. He didn't want to do anything to wake Mally prematurely. He sat and watched the sleeping mouse for a little while in hopes that perhaps his wait would be short.

Yesterday he'd been surprised to find Mallymkun up by the afternoon. They'd had a swell time walking around the park and chewing bubble gum, even if it did get in Thackery's fur. The show had gone fine and Mally had gone back to sleep like usual. Thackery hoped this meant that Mally's sleep pattern was changing.

After a short while of Mallymkun doing nothing more than sleeping Thackery finally opened his book. One of the stage members had leant it to him. Supposedly it was a collection of stories written by a pair of brothers called Grimm. They'd had fairy tales and legends in Underland, but they were very different than the ones in this book. He was in the middle of reading a story about a boy and girl who got lost in the woods and stumbled upon a house made of candy.

Thackery spent the better part of the morning reading the book. Stories of girls in red riding hoods and a princess with hair so long a prince could climb it into the tower where she was trapped. He read of a strange man who could spin wheat into gold.

His reading was eventually interrupted with a painful gnawing in his belly. It was almost noon and he hadn't eaten anything yet. Dormouse was still out like a light, but the fear that he'd wake up while Thackery was off getting something to eat kept the March Hare in his seat.

As he gazed at Dormouse Thackery's mind started to drift off to the day before. He really appreciated the effort Mally put into picking the gum off his ear and reassure him. The memory brought a smile to his lips as he watched Mally lost in his dreams. The Dormouse looked so peaceful and warm. Thackery quietly rose from his seat and crouch-walked over to the side of the bed. Mally looked so soft when he was sleeping and the urge to brush his fingers over the man's cheek was growing. Then he remembered Mally's offer to help him in the shower and a blush rose to his cheeks.

Before Thackery could act one way or the other the door to Mally's room burst open. "Thackery!" cried Tarrant who stood in the doorway. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Thackery jumped in surprise then immediately shushed Tarrant. "He's sleeping!" Thackery pointed to Mallymkun.

"Exactly my point," Tarrant heaved a heavy sigh. "Mally is sleeping. Alice says she needs her 'space.' I can't find Chesshur. Absolem put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on his door and looked rather put out when I disturbed him!"

Thackery got up while the Hatter was going on his tirade and ushered the mad man out of the room to let Mally sleep. When Tarrant finally paused for breath Thackery asked: "Is everything okay?"

Tarrant huffed. "No, everything is not okay! Its tea time and no one will join me!"

"Oh," Thackery muttered. He sighed and shut the door to Mally's room. Perhaps it just wasn't meant to be. "Yeah. Of course I'll join you for some tea."

"Thank you," Tarrant said and straightened his bow tie.

Thackery followed Tarrant back to the lounge. They brewed three pots of different teas and put empty cups and saucers at all the place settings (including some places between seats). Then they sat down in silence and waited for the tea to properly seep.

When just enough time had passed for the tea to be ready. Thackery looked at Tarrant and smiled. He reached for a tea pot and began singing as he poured Tarrant a cup of tea. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah very merry unbirthday to me."

Tarrant stared at him in surprise for a moment and asked, "To who?"

"To me," Thackery sang back.

A grin spread across Tarrant's face. "Oh, you."

Thackery went on singing: "A very merry unbirthday to you."

"To me?"

"Yes you."

"Oh, me." Before Thackery could start in with the verse, Tarrant picked up another tea pot and began singing as he poured a cup for Thackery. "Let us all congratulate us with another cup of tea. A very merry unbirthday to you!" They raised their cups and sang to one another. They bounced from chair to chair filling cups of tea as they went along and merrily sang.

After four rotations around the table Thackery noticed they had an audience. He smiled at the stage hands coming into work to find the Mad Hatter and March Hare acting crazy. They sang one last verse and collapsed in their chairs laughing. The small crowd applauded and everyone went about their business.

As the crowed cleared one person remained standing in the doorway slowly clapping. "Its been a long time since I heard you two going at it like that," Mally smiled.

Tarrant motioned for Mally to take a seat as Thackery beamed at him. "You're up!" he said.

"Yeah," Mally said as he crossed the room and took an empty chair. He pulled a book out from under the crook of his arm and placed it on the table. Thackery gasped - it was the Grimm's Fables he'd left in Mally's room.

"I'm sorry! I forgot the book in your room when Tarrant came in looking for someone to have tea with him," Thackery explained. He scooped the book up an held it in his lap.

Mallymkun leaned forward on the table, his elbows on each side of a cup of tea. He raised an eyebrow and looked very intently at Thackery. "You were in my room?" He smiled a rather confident and pleased smile that pulled a violent blush to Thackery's cheeks.

"What's that?" Tarrant asked looking at Thackery. He was oblivious to the moment of tension between Dormouse and March Hare that broke with the Hatter's question.

"Its a book," Thackery said. "One of fairy tales from this world."

"What's that have to do with tea?" Tarrant asked. He was stuck on the fact that it was tea time, obviously.

"Well," Thackery thought. "There are books about tea, but no tea about books."

Tarrant found this befuddling. He got up from the table and found the nearest book he could - which ended up being a pamphlet on the amusement park - and sat back down at the table. Page by page he began dipping the book in his tea cup, then sipping his tea to taste the literature.

Six cups of tea later and half way through the book Alice came into the lounge. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. "Hey guys," she smiled at them.

"Alice," Mally and Thackery said in unison and smiled back.

"What happened to your time alone?" Tarrant mumbled as he put the soggy book down on the table.

"I got it," Alice brushed it off. "Now I have a great idea of something we can all do together." She put a pamphlet she was holding down on the table in front of them all.

All three guys leaned in to look at the brightly colored paper. "What is it?" Thackery asked.

Alice put her hands on her hips and grinned. "This is a place we can go for a dinner and a show - all in one place. I thought because we don't have a show tonight we can go do this!"

"But, what is it?" Mallymkun repeated the question.

"Whatever it is," Tarrant interrupted, "its going to be fun!"

Mallymkun and Thackery exchanged a wary glance. The images in front of them didn't make any sense, but if Alice and Tarrant thought something was going to be fun it could be disastrous. Tarrant often had different ideas of what "fun" was from Alice.


	24. Dinah's Embarrassment

Dinah found herself in a very surprising position this afternoon. She'd been very displeased to find Chesshur in her secret napping spot. Despite her best efforts to kick him out the stubborn cat would not move. In the end they settled on a compromise that she would never admit was better than her original intention of making him leave. They ended up curled around one another and napping the afternoon away peacefully. The Cheshire Cat was a comfortable source of heat and Dinah didn't mind being this close to him. She lost all track of time and would have happily stayed curled up in the tea cup with Chesshur.

"What in the world!" came a cry of surprise that pulled Dinah from her sleep.

In a moment she went from curled up in Chesshur's arms to standing in the center of the DJ Booth and staring at Nivens. The White Rabbit stood at the gate to the booth and was staring gap-jawed. He wore his sunglasses so Dinah couldn't see his eyes, but she could imagine them judging her. Chesshur had barely stirred and only gave a little cry of protest when Dinah suddenly moved.

"Nivens!" Dinah cried. "What are you doing here?"

Nivens crossed his arms and tilted his head down so he was obviously looking at Chesshur. "I could ask you the same thing!" Nivens said.

Chesshur had propped his head up on his hand and was lazily watching both Dinah and Nivens. "What's all the fuss?"

"No fuss," Dinah quickly said. She felt the heat of a blush rising to her cheeks as she stood between the White Rabbit and Chesshur Cat. She could only imagine what they were thinking, and it wasn't good. Chesshur probably thought she was easy for falling so quickly for his ruse to curl up with him. Nivens probably thought she was stupid for being found curled up with someone like Chesshur. "What are you doing here Nivens? There's no show tonight!"

"I thought I'd take the opportunity to play with the connections back here. See if I could set up a spot for an additional laptop or something," Nivens rambled as he was caught off guard by the cross interrogation. "Doesn't explain what you're doing."

"Nothing," Dinah said at the same time Chesshur purred: "Sleeping."

She could see Nivens eyebrows appear over the top of his sunglasses as he looked at her in amazement. Dinah huffed and pushed past Nivens and out of the DJ Booth. As she stormed away she frantically combed her fingers through her post-nap tangles in an attempt to hide any evidence of what just transpired. In the back of her mind she realized she was leaving Chesshur alone to explain the situation to Nivens. She couldn't be confident what he said would even slightly resemble the truth, but she couldn't stand there a moment longer without bursting into flames of embarrassment.

She crossed to the backstage area and moved blindly through the halls. As she passed the communal lounge she heard the March Hare and Hatter going on about their Unbirthday. She brushed past Mallymkun in the halls. She was surprised to see the Dormouse up and about so early, but her primary goal was to get back to her room and hide.

Only moments later she burst through the door to her own personal room and slammed it shut behind her. Without turning the light on she kicked her shoes off and dove on to her bed. It was large and round and took up an entire quarter of the room. Piled high with pillows and blankets she dove into the safety of her own bed and curled around a fuzzy body pillow as she tried to will the last four hours away.

So what if Chesshur was comfy and warm? What if he was the perfect nap partner and she seemed to fit so easily against him? It was Chesshur! She should have known better. What if he had planned it this way? He lulled her into such a deep sleep so that they'd be caught by Nivens! That stupid cat!

There was a part of her that realized she was being irrational, but it was all she had to hold onto that kept this afternoon from being her fault. It kept her ease and comfort with him at bay if she was able to blame him for making a scene out of her.

She was too well rested and too emotionally wound up to fall back asleep. She tossed and turned under the sheets but couldn't seem to find a warm to settle into. She continued to stir until a voice interrupted her. "What, pray tell, are you doing?"

Dinah sat up straight in bed and glared at the source of the voice. Chesshur was standing in her open doorway smirking at her. She ran her fingers through her hair and pouted. "Trying to get some real rest for at least some of today," she muttered. "Now, get out and shut the door behind you when you leave."

Chesshur sauntered into the room and shut the door behind him, only half-fulfilling her wishes. She glared at him from inside her pile of pillows and blankets. "You slept pretty well this afternoon," he said. It infuriated her that he wasn't even guessing. It was as if he knew this afternoon's nap was the best nap . . Well. . . Ever!

"You're going the wrong way," Dinah warned him.

He shrugged. "Don't think I am." He boldly sat at the edge of her bed and leaned toward her. "Why don't you come out of there and we can go do something else."

Her brow furrowed. "What?"

"Come on," he said and held a hand out to her. "Alice is dragging everyone out for a dinner thing. Come with us."

Dinah eyed the hand skeptically. "You want me to go to dinner with you? Along with everyone else?"

"Why not?" he asked. "We had a pleasant enough afternoon 'til old Mr. Punctual showed up in time to ruin it. This could be fun. If nothing else, it'll get us out of these rooms and out into the world for an evening. I don't know about you, but I'm craving a change of scenery."

She considered both his hand and his offer. If everyone else was there, what harm could it do? She sighed and reached out and took his hand. "Fine, I'll go."

Chesshur's grin erupted into a genuine smile. "Purrfect. Now, lets get you out of those clothes." Before he could say another word Dinah slapped him hard across the face. "Fair enough," he continued. "I meant to finish with 'and into something more dinner-theatre worthy.' What do you say?"

Dinah frowned. "I thought you said we were going to dinner."

"What ," Chesshur said as he helped her off the bed, "goes better with dinner than a little bit of a theatre?"

Dinah stood and found herself standing in his warmth once more. Her heart dropped to her stomach and bounced up into her throat. In for a penny, in for a pound she supposed. "Fine. I'll change. Meet you in the hall in half an hour?"

"I wait with bated breath," Chesshur said with a bow and kissed the hand he was still holding. Then he gently dropped her hand and left the room.

She was left staring after him and wondering what had she really gotten herself into this time.


End file.
